


Blindsided

by Kirabaros



Series: Chronicles of Absolution Season 2 [15]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 73,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirabaros/pseuds/Kirabaros
Summary: 2.15. It was entrusted to an old friend over three thousand years ago. Now the forces of a dark cult with interesting ties seek the chance to grab it for their own and get a little bonus: Sam and Dean Winchester. Angela's on the list too but there is a slight complication... She can't see.
Series: Chronicles of Absolution Season 2 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1013514





	1. Chapter 1

_Ancient Greece_

The night was young and the moon danced on the waved in the harbor. It was a clear night and for the man standing on the balcony of his residence, he was anything but sure that this was a good idea but it needed to be done. The Eye was no longer safe in his hands since there were unknown forces that sought to use its power for evil. He had been warned when he took responsibility of the Eye that he was ultimately responsible for getting it into the hands of the one who could bring peace to the world.

The trip to Egypt had been one of an invitation issued. Others would have taken the opportunity to conduct espionage. To the man it was one of forging friendships and that was due to the experiences he had on one adventure that changed his view of the world. In Egypt, the pharaoh greeted him and conducted him as the guest of honor. However it was a priestess from the temple of one of their gods that had shown him the Eye.

Why he had been chosen to see it when only the priestess and a few acolytes were allowed to, it was beyond him. She said that it had been foreseen that the one who traveled not only the seas of the known world but those of time would come to Egypt. He alone would be able to protect the Eye and see it to its true guardian.

It was way over the top but after what he had been through and the things he had seen, he had no trouble believing it. It was quite a shock that he had been asked to take the Eye out of Egypt and back to his native land. He asked the priestess why and she said that it was no longer safe in the lands of the great one. The ones under the banner of the dark one were growing stronger and it was only a matter of time before the Eye fell into the wrong hands.

It took a lot of persuasion on her part to get him to take the Eye and sail back to Greece. He had the Eye in his possession for nearly a decade. Every day he kept an ear to the winds for any sign of the ones the priestess told him to be wary of. His spies were chosen from amongst the most trustworthy according to the warrior priest sent with him by the priestess. They gave him the tools needed to decide whether or not to move the Eye as the reports came it. It was a lot of responsibility and one that took its toll on his family. They didn’t complain but he could see that they would become fearful every time Aten would come in with news.

Now the Eye was no longer safe. Aten had brought word that the enemy had come to Greece. While they were not anywhere near his province, it was not worth it to take the potential threat lightly. Aten had prepared the order that served but that was hardly a handful of men against what he had been told were powerful beings. He had no trouble believing that since he had seen fairly capable beings. So now the Eye had to be moved. The plan he had hopefully would keep the Eye safe until it was time.

“Father, Aten says the preparations are completed.”

It was something like the days of the Golden Fleece given that the danger level was similar. By Hades he had seen and been through some of that. He was as the priestess said; he was the one who had traveled the seas of the known world and the seas through time. How that happened only the gods knew but it took a being called an archangel to send him back.

Jason looked out over the port city that had been home for years and turned to his youngest son. He smiled at him. He regretted that his family had to be a part of it especially his youngest. Aten had seen promise in the boy and trained him, saying that he would know how to keep the Eye safe and so on down his line. Jason had long ago learned to trust Aten’s judgment on certain things. He had been told that it was a heavy burden but the guardian of the Eye would be the one to relieve him of it.

It was time. Jason gave a slight sigh and replied, “Iloren, I know that you have been training under Aten for this but it still bears a heavy toll…”

Iloren looked at his father. He had heard the stories of the warrior princess that used the power of words before raising the sword. He heard of how she saved his father from the evil beings with black eyes with a sword that pulsed with life and a cry that spoke of banshees. He remembered the look his father would get; a look of admiration that spoke of shared history and friendship. Iloren didn’t doubt that his father loved his mother. He could understand that his father’s relationship with the warrior princess was a thing between warriors. He replied, “I know Father. It has been difficult to understand but I think I have a great honor in defending the Eye and making sure that it gets to the right person.”

Jason nodded. It was hard but his youngest had grown into a man. “I know the Eye is in good hands my son. I just hate to leave this burden on your head and your family to be. Such things have been known to destroy families. She knew that too.”

“And I think the warrior princess would say that we all have to take the leap. Something about only then we learn if we can fly or not,” Iloren replied with a smile on his face. He was afraid but he considered it an honor. His only wish was that he would be able to meet the great warrior princess that taught his father much of the world.

Jason chuckled. He remembered that lesson pretty well. It was after he met her and he opened up about his family and his children that she told him that after he berated her for letting her partner jump without looking as the phrase went. “She would say that Iloren.”

Without further ceremony, Jason walked through the room to where the door had been built and carefully concealed. True it could remain there for a much longer time but as Aten would ask him, why take the risk? He knew Iloren was following him as he led the way to a chamber that he hadn’t set foot in since the day he put the Eye there.

It had been designed in the Egyptian style as per tradition. However, having picked up some things along the way, Jason added a few more touches and he learned them from the warrior princess he was proud to call his friend. When he had returned, most of his old comrades and the Argonauts didn’t quite believe him when he said he had been to a place that they would never see in a lifetime. One of his friends though grew thoughtful when he described her and called her the warrior princess. He tried to inquire about it but his friend was the kind to not talk about things like that. He was what one called an emo bitch. He picked that up from one of her companions.

Slowly he crossed the floor to where the Eye rested. He put his hand on the simple but elegant wooden box and stroked the surface. Gently he lifted it and held it in his hands. It was only one piece but he knew that eventually all three would be together again. Right now he had to make sure the Eye was safe. He handed it over to Iloren saying, “The time has come for the Eye to move. I am entrusting you Iloren to keep it safe. It is a duty to be passed through your bloodlines.”

Iloren accepted the chest replying, “I Iloren, son of Jason accept this duty with a full knowledge of what a burden entails.”

Jason nodded as he replied, “Keep it safe Iloren.”

“I will see to it that it finds its way into the hands of the guardian who will bring peace to the world.” Iloren knew, at least he thought he knew who the guardian would be. It could have been a happy coincidence but one didn’t simply doubt the oracles when they were given.

Jason put his hands on his son’s forearm. It had been a blessing that his youngest had been spared from Medea’s wrath. He didn’t blame her for the mistake he had done. Now his son was being used by forces and gods he couldn’t hope to understand to carry this out. Perhaps there was such a thing as fate and destiny. He saw Aten appear.

The stoic warrior dressed a strange mixture of Egyptian and Grecian clothing but Jason always suspected that he was more comfortable in his Egyptian attire. He was tall and muscular, the trademarks of a warrior who trained hard. His skin was darkened brown and he never could lay off of the formal stiffness he came to them with. He was trustworthy and proved it time and time again. He said, “It is time.”

Jason nodded, “Then I leave Iloren in your hands Aten. Look after him.”

Aten gave the customary warrior salute with the fist over the chest. “I shall carry out my duty with honor.”

Iloren couldn’t help but chuckle. Even when he discovered the warrior had a sense of humor, he was still stiff about it. He wondered if that was the case with all dedicated warriors like him. He said, “What is the will of the gods will be done Father.”

“Safe journey my son.”

Jason watched as his son disappeared into the crowd. He knew he would never see him again but he was confident that Aten would watch over him. _Old friend, I wonder what you are doing now in your time._

_Denver International Airport, 2008_

The United States was an interesting place to be in. There were a lot of stories from people who immigrated there and talking about the land of opportunity and being able to be rich. He also heard that there were cities where the people mugged others for things they didn’t have. It was same back thing back home.

Kyros adjusted the backpack on his shoulder as he followed the crowd through the gate and into the terminal. He didn’t know exactly where he was going but he was smart enough to read and follow the signs and go with the flow. He just had to be diligent. It was a lesson that had been instilled in him since the day he could walk and talk. Plus it was a means to survive when you are pretty much a drifter.

The voices over the intercom indicating flights and calling for personnel added to the cacophony of the airport. He tuned it out though and paid attention to his surroundings. He was supposed to be greeted by Amunet, his new guardian. New in that he was moving here permanently just as the rest of his family had been scattered across the world. It was as it had been since the beginning.

Kyros followed the crowd to where baggage claim and departures for cabs and buses were. That was typical and the standard look for an airport terminal. Gods knew he had been through quite a few of them and some were nothing more than warehouses with a sign that said airport. As he came down the escalator, he noticed the line of drivers with signs and they had names written on them for their people. For once Kyros wished that Amunet would do something like that. However he knew that part of his test or whatever was to find the person himself even though he had never met her before.

There was a way to recognize the friend and the enemy. It all came down to what he had been trained to look for. He ignored the fact that he could spot a few shifters wandering around trying to get to their next destination. They would meet their end soon enough at the hand of a hunter if they weren’t careful. He looked around for signs that might indicate the presence of his guardian. He then spotted something and he gave a slow smile and immediately sidestepped into another crowd.

Amunet was staring at the arrival gate and waiting in baggage claim. She had been charged with protecting the Keeper and escorting him to see the true guardian. As a descendant of the warrior that accompanied the Grecian king, it was her duty to protect the Keeper and see the Eye to its protector. It was the duty of her family for over three thousand years just as it was the duty of the descendants of the Grecian king.

She had been chosen to greet the current Keeper since it had been verified that the protector of the Eye was residing in the United States. She had been born here and trained in her duties at the Skye Temple located in a secret location in this country. She was proficient in the old ways of combat and the ways of war and hunting the very forces that sought the Eye. She also was familiar with the expressions of the world today but that didn’t mean that she was the expert in blending in. As it were, she could have passed for a plain clothes officer or government agent standing stiff as a poker.

That certainly made her easy to pick out especially when her charge came up from behind and said, “You look like you belong on a government detail rather than my ‘aunt’ picking me up from the airport.” It had been given in good humor but the look that her charge had gave her the impression that he was a prankster by nature.

Amunent looked at Kyros with a bland expression that betrayed no emotion. “Then again I could one of the very dark forces that seek you.”

Kyros rolled his eyes slightly. He had been trained in hunting and shown how to tell if someone was possessed. He replied, “Christo”

There was no reaction ad Amunet had to admit that it was bold of the Keeper to walk right up and say the words. She studied the amused expression that he wore and came to the conclusion that in order to hide he hid behind humor but she noticed that his eyes were ever alert. “I see you have trained in identification but what about your fighting skills?”

“I don’t believe in fighting,” Kyros replied automatically. That didn’t mean that he didn’t know how. Part of it was his training under a Buddhist monk who was proficient in martial arts and knew a thing or two about hunting. That was the thing about his family; they moved around a lot.

Amunet thought he was kidding but the serious expression he was giving told her otherwise. Great, so she was dealing with a kid who knew how to do research but didn’t know how to fight. That was just rich. She was babysitting a nerd. “Fine. Any baggage?”

Kyros grinned a little. He knew exactly what his guardian was thinking. Well this was going to be a little fun. He replied, “Only what I got with me.” He shrugged his shoulder that hat the strap of his backpack over it. He ran a hand through his black curls and stared at his guardian. It was then he noticed something behind Amunet but it was a brief moment. It was enough though to send a warning down his spine but he wasn’t sure if his new guardian picked it up yet. It was a relationship building thing. “So we going?”

Amunet nodded. She beckoned Kyros to follow. She led the way out to the car and beckoned him to get in. She couldn’t believe it. It was her first assignment and she was given a Keeper who was a nerd and probably couldn’t throw a punch to save his life. She didn’t say much as she popped the key into the ignition and turned on the car and turned out of the park.

Kyros was well aware that his guardian was not impressed. He got the feeling she was hoping for someone who probably was one of those muscle head jocks he used to go to school with. He was actually fit. He just looked wiry with his choice of clothes. He was wearing a long sleeve hoodie and over that was a t-shirt. He had jeans and sneakers on and he was carrying a backpack that had seen better days. In it though was his life and that included a change of clothes, his laptop and what he was supposed to bring to the guardian. He also had a cell phone and an iPod tucked in there along with a couple of books and they weren’t recreational either along with a little something extra that hadn’t been easy to get past security. He had black hair and dark brown eyes and he wore an amulet that was peculiar but he never took it off. He liked her though and figured that she was roughly his age. He turned on the radio and flipped it to the station and grinned when Back in Black started playing. “Oh yeah. Now that’s a classic.”

Amunet just continued to drive. The place they were supposed to head to was a place called Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She set the GPS to give her directions and rolled her eyes at the music playing on the radio. She preferred cultural music like that of Africa. The drums always got her blood moving. This sounded more like cats screeching. “Classic crap.”

Kyros had been looking out the window at the side mirror. That feeling he had hadn’t dissipated and he had been watching their backs ever since they got to the car. He had been hoping that Amunet had been paying attention.

“You know how to shoot?”

Kyros glanced at Amunet and noticed that she was glancing in the mirror. So she did notice. He liked her even better. He decided to tease her a little bit, “I don’t believe in guns.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Amunet replied losing her temper.

“But I can shoot a bow and I can shoot a gun.”

Amunet glared at Kyros who was giving her a grin. “This isn’t funny. We have a tail.”

Kyros was still grinning as he opened his backpack. He checked to make sure he had everything. “I know. I made the guy at the airport. It’s one of them.”

“Shit. I was hoping that we’d be out of the state before they figured out you were here.” Amunet glanced in the mirror as she increased her speed on the highway. They were not even out of the city yet. She took an exit and noticed that the tail followed.

“They probably have the same sources as we do. Times have changed,” Kyros said as she checked the mirror again. He made sure that everything was secure. “I was chased on the way to the airport back where I’m from.”

“Your last guardian?”

“Led them away. Don’t know what happened to him but your kind always seem to land on your feet,” Kyros replied as he finished his work. He held up the blade that he put together. It was an ancient weapon that he had been trained in. “Me, the best thing I learned was to run away.”

Amunet looked at Kyros and the small hand blade he was holding in his hand. She reached in the glove compartment and pulled out a 9mm and held it out to him. “I don’t care if you don’t like them. Just take it.”

Kyros took it and checked the load with an expert hand. He put it in his bag. He knew the drill and if Amunet knew it too, then he was going to have to bail sometime soon. He had money and he had the cards too. “Thanks for the lead princess.”

“Ass hat,” Amunet replied as she started towards the downtown section. It was the busiest place and perfect for the Keeper to get lost in. “So you know the drill then. Get lost and make your way to the target.”

“Yeah and leave you behind to do all the dirty work,” Kyros muttered. He heard it all before. He hated leaving the guardians behind. That was the job though. They protected his family and with their lives. That just never sat right with him and neither did it with his mom and dad. It was sheer coincidence that they were both related to their ancestor but so far down the family tree that it didn’t matter unless you had a perverted mind.

“It’s the job,” Amunet replied as she made a turn. She was still being followed. That was just perfect. She didn’t have time to saw anything more when they were hit on the side. There was the crunch of glass breaking and she jerked the wheel to the side.

Kyros was startled and looked around. He saw that they had been hit by a second car. They must have gotten smarter in their tactics. How in the heck did they know it was him anyway? He had cousins and a sister but she hadn’t been struck with the curse. She died when she was five and in his opinion, free of the burden of this. “Damn. How the hell?”

“No time for questions,” Amunet replied and hit the gas. She was speeding in traffic but she was very good at it and they were lucky. “Get ready.”

“Hell no sister.”

“Hey. We have a job to do.” Amunet glanced over at Kyros and noticed that his eyes were blazing with anger. He was pissed at this plan. “Look it’s the drill. We have to get the Eye to the protector. You are the only one who knows how to work it and will know the warrior princess.”

“And what do you want me to do? Hitchhike my way out of here?” Kyros was being an ass and could afford to be.

Before Amunet could answer, they were hit again but in a pit maneuver. The car spun around and she tried to go with it to get out of the skid. She had practiced in different scenarios so she knew how to do it but it was way different when it was done for real. She gritted her teeth as she turned the wheel with the skid.

It didn’t help that they were hit again. This time though, it flipped the car and sent it rolling. At the speeds they were going it was enough to jar them up pretty good. They rolled quite a bit and hit the side of a building hard.

Kyros felt like he did a face plant when he had been tripped in school. He looked around and found himself suspended upside down. He looked over to see Amunet groaning. He saw the two cars from earlier come up. He looked at Amunet and said, “Hey, you okay?”

“Get out.”

Kyros rolled his eyes. He reached up awkwardly and undid his seatbelt. He could hear sirens. That meant EMTs and cops. Great. He fell down and was able to slide his way out. He reached in to grab his backpack when he heard, “Stop right there.” He turned to see one of them pointing a gun at him. Great, they wanted to shoot him?

Kyros looked and saw that there were people being nosy. Witnesses; that was just perfect since they would believe anything they were told. He held his hands up and said, “Hey, you guys hit me. What do you want?”

“You know what we want. We want the Eye.”

“Not going to happen.” It was followed by gunshots.

Kyros looked to see that Amunet had gotten herself freed. He looked wide eyed at her and surprised that she was okay, given the cut on her forehead. He was in the line of fire but he took the opportunity to dodge out of the way. He got behind the overturned car and reached into his backpack. He looked at Amunet.

There wasn’t time to say anything else. There were sirens and cops coming. Amunet still pointed her gun at the guys. They were shooting back now and Kyros had ducked. Amunet said, “Run. You know what to do.”

Kyros looked at her and then glanced at the approaching cops. Yeah he knew the plan but he as still reluctant, “I can’t just…”

“Go!”

Kyros obeyed the training that kicked into gear. He took off running while Amunet gave cover. He ran ahead knowing that she would cover him. He turned down the streets and when he was certain he was a fair distance away, he pulled up his hood and disappeared into the crowd. He doubled back just in time to see Amunet being arrested by the police and it wasn’t the police of this town. They were in serious trouble. He stepped back into the crowd and disappeared. He had to get to Sioux Falls and this time he was on his own.


	2. Chapter 2

_The room was dark. The moonlight flitted across the beds, the furniture, casting shadows over everything. It was calm and peaceful as Sam walked in followed by Dean. They had just gotten back from a hunt and things were pretty good somewhat. True they were one step closer to getting the Colt back from Bela but they weren’t any closer to breaking Dean’s deal. Well they were but the one person who knew wasn’t telling._

_Sam walked in and put his duffle on the bed that was his. It had been a week since she left and he missed her. He didn’t blame Dean for blowing up in her face and she didn’t blame him either. She did say though that it was her choice and she was following through with it no matter what they said. Of course Dean asked her about throwing her Rose away. That sparked a reaction and she had left._

_Sam looked at Dean who went into the bathroom to turn on the light. He turned and there Angela was at the door. He looked back at Dean but he didn’t react. It was like he didn’t see her. He looked back and took a closer look._

_There was scarring around her eyes. Sam swallowed as he frowned worriedly. He had never seen her face look like that before and her eyes… The color was there but badly faded. She was looking at him with that look she gave when she was focused on something. She then said, “Fear is powerful Sam and in the end it is our fears that eat us alive.”_

_Sam turned and then saw some guys in dark suit and some in priest robes all black. They rushed towards him and were prepared to strike but she lashed out. She pulled him behind her and used… was that a cane for the blind? She used it like she would use a staff fending them off. They were still in the room knocking over furniture and Dean wasn’t even paying attention!_

_Sam shouted, “Dean! A little help!”_

_Dean turned to look at him and frowned. Dean couldn’t see him? Sam turned to see her get knocked on her back. One was holding a blade. It was Absolution and it was aimed at her heart. She was looking around as if trying to listen. Sam rushed forward shouting, “No!”_

_The blade came down…_

Sam jerked his eyes open and gasped. He panted as he lay in his bed and looked up at the ceiling as he eyes roved around. He heard a door open and he sat up and looked to see Dean come out of the bathroom. He looked wide eyed at his brother and tried to remember where the heck they were and what they were doing.

Dean frowned at him and asked, “You all right?”

Sam refocused and shook his head, “Yeah. Um just a really weird dream.” He made a slight face as he made to get out of bed.

Dean frowned not so sure. Sam really had been acting weird ever since they took this job probably because it was like the first job they had done without their sister. He actually liked calling her that and started calling her Sis especially after that last case. He still felt pissed and a whole bunch of emotions that would qualify for a chick flick moment but she got that; even better than he first assumed.

When she wasn’t looking, Dean snuck a peek at her cell phone. Some of the things she said to him were peculiar and his Dean senses were going off much like they would when Sam had something on his mind. He checked and found the same number that called his phone and he heard Dad’s voice. He frowned at that and wondered whose voice she had heard. He never mentioned snooping into her things but he felt bad and fessed up to her. She never told him whose voice she heard but she forgave him right away and said that she would be happy to listen. Since then he called her Sis and she never minded.

He had to admit that it was weird that she wasn’t with them on this case but he wasn’t as put out as Sam was. He asked, “What was it? Lollipops and candy canes?”

“Usual. Clowns and midgets,” Sam replied as he got out of bed and rubbed his eyes. “Did she call?”

Dean tried not to roll his eyes. As amusing as this was, it was annoying when Sam turned into the concerned parent with her. She was an adult and capable of making her own choices even if the ones concerning her feelings were bad ones. “Sam, it’s 8:30 and she’s probably having her morning coffee.”

“She has her coffee at 6:30 after she wakes up at 5:30,” Sam replied as he stumbled into the bathroom feeling like crap as he rotated his sore shoulders. His change of clothes was under one arm along with the toiletries he used. “That’s when she usually gives a wakeup call.”

Dean raised his brows in surprise. Damn his brother was good with the whole memory thing. That only showed that his brother was more into their girl than he knew about and was associating it with being close friends and recently as family. Well Sam acted like that since they hooked up anyway. He replied, “Yeah well she has had lie ins too.”

“Since when have you ever let her, Dean,” Sam’s tired voice came through the door. He ran a hand through his locks and stared at the window. That was the fifth version of the same dream he had since she left and it was true that things didn’t exactly go well on that.

“Hey, she wants to sleep in, I let her,” Dean retorted through the door. “Now really Sam, what’s eating you? That’s like the fourth or fifth time you’ve slept late for you. Is this about what happened before she left?”

“Dean.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean to overhear what she was taking to Bobby about and I put together something about going to a crossroad since it is her business…”

“It’s not that Dean.”

“Sure it is because she kept it a secret from us. You know Sam did you ever think that there is a reason for it?”

Sam reached to turn on the shower. He knew it was a long shot that Dean saved any hot water for him. It did bother him that she was keeping up a potential crossroads deal a secret but he had learned his lesson from Monument. He figured it had something to do with what she was doing about going after the demon and it was tied up into what she told him about things that should stay buried. As much as he wanted to know and try to help her out, he knew that there were some things that she must have experienced that were too much to shed light on and she buried it as a defense mechanism.

Knowing that Dean was expecting some answer he replied, “There is Dean and she’s not going to talk about it and I’m fine with that.”

“Sure you are,” Dean muttered under his breath. He knew Sam never let an issue lie if it was something related to their current items on the to-do list. He replied louder, “Really? Well Bobby sure as hell is pissed. I mean I could hear him yelling over the phone.” He picked up his phone just to see if there was a text message. Hell even he missed her.

“Bobby always throws a fit when she does something that we would do,” Sam shouted as he stepped into the shower. As the hot water cascaded down his body, he thought about his dreams. They were eerily similar to the ones he had where she fought something and died alone. This time though he and Dean were there but Dean wasn’t paying attention, only he could see it and was reacting to it.

Something was up and it was big. He always had a dream like this when it came to things involving her. The other times he had dreams it was like a motivation to convince Dean to ask her along and then that vision where he saw Dean try to kill her… It was like something was warning him that she was in danger but the thing was she did that stuff with them every day. The job was dangerous and she had been trying not to do the flying solo thing and recklessness with her life…

“Hey you planning on drowning yourself in there?”

“Bite me,” Sam shouted at his brother. At least this job was finished. Then maybe they could be on her trail and find her.

Even so the best intentions were often waylaid and in this case, they were waylaid by Dean’s stomach. So they ended up in the nearby diner with Dean stuffing his face with bacon and downing coffee like it was a lifeline. Sam was toying with a short stack from which he had taken a total of three bites but drinking his coffee. It was late for breakfast but Dean wanted food and Sam wasn’t going to deny him that.

Dean had his mouth stuffed and had to admit that it was weird not to see Angela sitting by Sam eating something or just drinking coffee and reading a paper. It had been weird ever since she said that she had to hit the road. She never gave a reason for it but the argument with Bobby over the phone gave him a few good ideas about what.

Sam had told him from their last fight that she admitted to going after the demon with his contract solo and that was in exchange for information. He knew she wasn’t callous enough to risk her soul though she certainly was willing when Sam died to bring him back and that was for him. More likely it was like how she treated that Cary fellow they met. He did have to admit that she played the sexy torture queen very nicely and it put a whole new meaning to bondage.

Her last conversation must have involved that and probably a few things she neglected to mention. It was like déjà vu for him in that it was similar to the arguments that Dad and Sam used to have but it was different in that she listened to everything Bobby said and she used that calm voice but Dean knew that she was hurting. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop especially after that favor she did in talking to Sam about things going on and laying everything out. Even more so when he defied his usual convention and gave her a first kiss from him that was strictly platonic. The time when she was possessing Jo didn’t count, because it ended up being Jo, and that was why he teased her about being a matchmaker with that waitress that had the hots for her.

Dean studied Sam and decided enough was enough. If it was this bad now, he could hardly imagine what it would be like when they actually were on the same page regarding their feelings. “Hey, those pancakes aren’t gonna eat themselves ya know.”

“Sorry. Just not that hungry I guess,” Sam replied after taking one small bite but it hardly looked like there was a dent.

“Bull, Sammy. You’ve got something going on in that mind of yours and it sure as hell ain’t clowns or midgets.”

“Sorry Dean. Maybe I want to get lost in my thoughts,” Sam replied on the defensive. He knew the routine. Dean was going to go at it until he spilled or clammed up. Before it got to that point though, she always intervened and put a stop to it. She never voiced it, but she didn’t seem to like it when he or Dean got into full on fights and would always mutter her line about families not fighting.

“Yeah sure you do that if you want to have a fantasy of a hot girl on a beach but when you toss and turn five nights in a row, it is up for discussion.” Dean had put his fork down and put his arms on the table to indicate that he was being serious. “Now talk.”

“Dean you can’t make me,” Sam replied after a slight scoffing.

“What? You still pissy about the fact that I told you Ruby said there was no saving me? You think that maybe she’s twisting Angie’s arm with chasing the demon thing?” Dean looked at Sam not willing to back down and he wasn’t going to anytime soon.

“Dude,” Sam couldn’t find the words to say.

“Sam, I’m guessing it was one those dream vision things and it has to do with Angie.” Dean may be wrapped up in his problems but he knew that his observations paid off in that he was able to spot things. “The only reason I’m saying it is because you looked like a kicked puppy when she split for her job and then the tossing and turning. So give. She in trouble?” Dean eyed Sam with an intent look hoping that Sam would open up.

Sam tapped his fork on the probably now soggy pancakes. He really couldn’t keep the possibility that she might be in trouble from Dean. His brother would kick his ass just as he would Dean’s. “I don’t know. It was like the others where she was taking on a group of whatever but there were a few things different.”

“Okay that’s a start,” Dean replied. He knew that asking if she was in trouble would get Sam to reconsider because he would royally hound Sam’s ass if he kept something that important from him. “So what was it? Vampires, werewolves or humans running around with stuffed animal heads?”

Sam narrowed his eyes. “Dean, don’t poke fun at shamans. She doesn’t have a problem with them.”

“Shut up professor and talk.”

“They were human as far as I could tell. Some wearing suits and others robes and it was in our motel room.”

Dean made a slight face. Usually Sam described the scene in a dark alley or sometimes just darkness. This was hairy even for him. “Okay so it’s when we get back together then.”

“Dean it was the motel room we are currently in and we were both there. You weren’t paying attention.”

“Hey if someone was attacking our girl then I would notice,” Dean pointed out a little heatedly. Thank God they were hear the back so that they weren’t easily overheard and not too close to the restroom to smell ass. No one would pay them any mind. “You and I would both notice and be first to jump.”

“I know that but it was like you couldn’t see it,” Sam replied. He knew Dean wasn’t that way and that’s what bothered him. “Frankly I don’t know why the format changed and why she was carrying a cane.”

“Cane?”

“Yeah a blind man’s cane,” Sam replied frowning. He scooped up a piece of his short stack and took a bite. He absently began to eat more as he thought about it. He finished half of it finally when he paused to look at Dean who was watching him. “What?”

Dean was surprised that Sam actually ate some more. When he turned into brooding emo bitch, it took her version of the puppy eyes to get him to do something or verbal threats that were much more intimidating than what he usually threatened. This time Sam did it on his own and that was a start. She was rubbing off on them some. “Nothing, just wondering why she would be carrying such a thing.”

“She was using it like a staff and she was pretty good at it.”

“Dude, you and I both know that is the first weapon she trained in being all serious and not that needlepoint she does. She taught you remember?”

“I know that Dean.” Sam wasn’t going to say more about it since there were some details he was musing over. He wanted to work that out and he wasn’t going to say that she always spoke to him but said something different every time and that the locations changed too. “It was just different,” he concluded lamely.

At that moment, his cell phone rang. Sam looked at Dean as he fished it out. It was her. He flipped it open, “Angie?”

****

“Damn it. I told you to get lost. You got what you came for.”

Angela kneeled behind Rufus Turner and began to untie the ropes. She grinned a little as she leaned over to say in a low voice, “And I told you that I could be backup. Looks like I was right.” She finished untying the ropes.

“I don’t need your help especially since Bobby sent you.” Rufus stood up rubbing his wrists where the ropes rubbed them. “Now get lost and go jump into the pit you so badly want to jump into.”

Angela knew she deserved that one. Bobby had warned her that he and Rufus weren’t exactly on the best of terms and the fact that Rufus knew what she was up to… it was hardly a picnic but she rather liked the crotchety hunter. She replied, “I’ll do that on my own time. Right now I’m here and it sure looked like you needed help. I told you going solo with a nest is not a good idea.”

Rufus looked at the girl that darkened his doorstep with a sunny smile. He almost wanted to shoot her right then and there since she was stuck on this sunny disposition but she had come prepared. He knew Bobby must have told her to bring the Johnny Walker Blue but she brought him not one but two bottles. When she joined him and downed a shot like it was nothing, he was heartily impressed. Bobby told him that she was looking for information and well he had it and gave it to her after a few more drinks. She left after that but he never expected her to show up.

It was just a case of a vampire and he was the only one within reach of Nowheresville, Massachusetts to handle it. So he did. He didn’t expect it to be a nest of them and they decided he would be a good snack for them. So they tied him up and took their time with it and then she came in. He replied, “How was I supposed to know it was a nest?”

“And here I thought you were the guy that knew things,” Angela replied as she checked her weapons. She brought along Absolution since it had been a while since they had a good slice and dice. He was humming happily in his sheath on her back as she checked her chakram and knife.

“Smartass.”

“Part of my charm Rufus,” Angela replied as she looked up suddenly. She had sensed them and they entered the room in force. She pulled out her knife and held it out. “Here, you can borrow one.”

Rufus growled as he took the knife. It was rather a nice one and he was rather surprised that she had something like this. Most hunters that came for information usually had more rugged equipment. This looked like it was babied for its life and well taken care of. “You going to keep tabs on who borrowed the lawnmower?”

“I might. Usually do with Bobby and if he breaks, he buys me a new one,” Angela replied as she pulled out Absolution. She could feel him humming with glee and gave a slight grin.

Rufus chortled as the vampire hissed at them. He liked this girl. She wasn’t put off by him or Bobby’s manner. “I’ll be careful then.”

“Can’t ask for more than that,” Angela replied. As soon as the first vamp charged, she took off. She charged full on and did a handspring forward to land in the thick of a group. She swung Absolution and made contact with the neck of one vampire and did a twist of her body to deflect a lunge from another.

Rufus felt old as he watched her take down the vamps with little to no trouble. It looked like she had been doing that for years. When he saw her run up a wall and twist off, he knew there was something different about her. He took out any stragglers and they disposed of the bodies by burning them and watched as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. It was then he noticed something and that was the reaction of her eyes.

It was later when they were at a diner enjoying coffee given a bit of kick with a handy dandy flask she had brought that he got down to business. “Okay I know things but I don’t know you. What the hell are you?”

Angela raised her brow and took a sip of her version of Irish coffee though it was hardly that. At least it made the stuff more palatable. The coffee in this diner sucked like hell. She replied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What specifically are you asking?”

Rufus saw that she was going to play with this. “Alright, are you human?”

“Half.” Angela wasn’t going to bother with games except for the twenty questions. “The other half is vamp.”

Rufus knew things but he never heard of a half human and half vampire before. He didn’t know whether or not to try and use the knife on the table to stab her and make a getaway. Instead though he felt compelled to sit and continue his line of questions, “How do you know Bobby?”

“The stray that decided to stay. Plus he saved my ass a few times.”

“So you’re a vampire that hunts their own kind?”

“And any other thing out there. Wendigos, chupacabras, demons, spirits, the occasional witch and crazy human,” Angela replied. “Saving people and hunting things. The family business.” She leaned back in her seat aware that Rufus was in two minds about killing her.

“Well you saved my ass.”

“No I was merely observing.”

“Cheeky little…”

“All part of the charm,” Angela replied as she put in another generous helping of whiskey after her coffee was refilled.

The banter back and forth continued until they entered the parking lot. Rufus said, “Well this has been fun.”

“Certainly it has been fun for me,” Angela replied. She pulled out a slip of paper that had her number on it. It was a risk since she knew Rufus was going to be more of hermit and the like. She handed it to the hunter and said, “Call me if you want to do it again sometime.”

“If you darken my doorstep, I’ll shoot you.”

“Not without the offering,” Angela teased. She knew the rules and she enjoyed watching Rufus scowl at her.

Rufus did scowl at her but it turned into a smile, “You’re good Angela. Maybe a hunt in another time.”

Angela grinned. As a parting gift, she tossed the flask at Rufus. He deserved a drink after being tortured by her. She then turned to the old truck that she managed to jack and started towards it. It was then something pricked her spine. She turned to see Rufus heading towards his car and then something else and it was near…

She took off in a full sprint and got to Rufus in no time at all. He grabbed him in spite of his protests and pushed him to the side just as the spray of bullets started. She turned to check and make sure Rufus was all right before peering around and ducking as another aimed for her. She led him away through the cars until something caught her attention. She turned just as the vehicle exploded and she felt a burning sensation in her eyes and face. She fell backwards and landed on someone and rolled off. The only thing she could hear were car alarms blaring and then she passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

The scene was utter chaos but that was just a pleasing side effect. Still everything went off according to plan. The stage was set and the bait taken. The players came onto the scene and then the show began. Yep it was all part of the plan and done for the amusement of the bitch queen of their little sortie that had been hanging around for nearly three thousand years.

“I hit it like you said but the bitch was faster than I thought Teej.”

Thomas J. (pun to the president) looked at the newcomer with a scowl that was mean enough to melt lead. He replied, “TJ to you, ass hat. It was expected. Queen Bitch said that the protector would be faster than normal humans.”

“Yeah but she survived.”

“A minor problem. She wanted us to make sure it was the one we were looking for. The others will be called now.” Thomas looked at the scene through his binoculars. They were in perfect position to not get caught at watching the scene.

The plan was to set up a situation that would force the protector to reveal their true nature. They had several possibilities since they were going on descriptions that dated back to over three thousand years. For three thousand years they had been chasing after the Eye. The Keepers were experts at being elusive and it was just by sheer luck that they managed to get a hold of the fact that the Eye was coming to the United States.

That meant that the potentials in the other continents could be taken off assignment. They had the main target now it was just a matter of getting the Eye. Thomas watched as the ambulance pulled up and the EMTs were jumping out and doing their thing. He put a hand up to the hands free set that was always in his ear when they were on a mission. As soon as he made contact he said, “It’s the one.”

_Good. I was growing tired of the mishaps. Too many unexplained deaths draw attention._

“I thought it was agreed that half would be terrorists and the other half was get creative,” Thomas replied as he watched the target being checked over for a pulse. The other one was being looked at.

_True but there are some geniuses out there. So tell me, is she dead?_

Thomas paused a moment to think about how to word it. He then said, “Her reaction time was as expected. She wasn’t close enough to get full contact with the explosion.”

_So she’s alive then?_

“Yes.”

_Excellent. It still fits in with our plans. The Keeper escaped but we have his guardian. It will only be a matter of time before she breaks and tells us where he is heading._

“So you intend to follow through with Operation Two Birds?”

_Of course dear Thomas. We haven’t been waiting for over three thousand years to let the Keeper slip from up once again._

Thomas nodded even though he couldn’t be seen. Two Birds meant that they would find out where the Keeper was going. It was assumed that the protector was in contact with the Keeper but being the warrior princess meant that she would be hard to break. So the best bet was to follow the Keeper. Then they take out both in one fell swoop; kill two birds with one stone, hence the operation’s name.

He had studied the plan and felt that it was a good plan. He just thought it better that they dog the protector, the warrior princess, for some time. It would give them a chance to see what she was really made of. He had learned that to observe an opponent in battle was surest way to know where their heart truly lies. It was how he had been trained to fight since he had been small for his age growing up. He learned to study the opponent and use their weaknesses against them.

Seeing that he needed to reply, he said, “The warrior princess is injured and being taken to the local hospital.”

_Good. There will be plenty of time to see what damage has been caused._

“Do you wish me to follow?” It was a typical question to ask since they needed permission. The bitch queen always was in full control of the plan and she was the one who said yes or no.

_Yes but keep an eye out. Report back anything even if you think it is nothing more than what her bathroom routine is._

Thomas nodded in affirmation. “It is said that the warrior princess knows how to use even the simplest tool to achieve her ends. I will go and find out if she has friends or enemies. Perhaps this could make the game more fun.”

_That is why you are the best at what you do. The bloody Keepers have managed to keep the Eye hidden but soon we will have it and with it the power of immortality._

Thomas nodded, “You wish had always been my command.”

There was nothing more than a tinkle of laughter and the sound of the phone being disconnected. He shut off his hands free set and picked up the binoculars. It looked like they were getting ready to head to the hospital. Well, time to go. He looked at his partner, “Payton, let’s move.”

Payton shouldered the rifle he had brought back. He was supposed to aim for the target’s companion and he hoped that he would be able to execute a shot. Well he did get a few off. It was his idea to shoot the tank of the nearest car and make it explode. That worked and it seemed like his partner was glad for that. “So we good, Boss?”

Thomas slung his pack over his shoulder and led the way to where their vehicle was. Everything was going to plan. At least he thought so. The bitch queen always liked to be in control so sometimes they didn’t get the full picture of their corner of the plan. It was maddening and frustrating but in the end it worked out. They were one step closer to getting the Eye and the full failure of the Keepers, their Egyptian guardians and the blasted warrior princess that was now found.

He glanced back at Payton who was breaking down his gun into the specialized compartments and putting them in the case he was carrying. He replied, “Good for now. I hope you like guard duty Payton.”

“Not usually a choicest assignment but hey since we have our man, then that’s good.”

Thomas gave a wry grin. Payton was young and new to active duty. He heard about the glory assignments of chasing down the Keeper or anyone related to the Keeper and to them… that was the ultimate assignment. To him, the best assignments were the ones that involved the tracking of the warrior princess. Those teams were given the description and the possible target and they were sent to observe. Of course they were to test to make sure that their target was the one and that was done based upon the group they were in.

He was lucky in the sense that he had a better description of the warrior princess. The bitch queen gave it to him when she assigned him to this case. She said that the others were sent to keep them busy. There was too much to prepare for the coming tide and she didn’t need hot shots acting like teenagers when the parents were out of the house. She said that she knew what she looked like and even had a name but as to anything else, she wanted him to find out. Know thy enemy was the motto here and Thomas aimed to fulfill it. “We got her yes but there is still much to do.”

“Lead the way Boss.”

****

Amunet had been in an interrogation room before. She had been made to undergo all kinds of interrogation. It was part of the training and became even more of a necessity since the times had changed along with the technology. The old ways didn’t always account for the new and ingenious ways the other side came up with to deal with difficult prisoners.

She wriggled her fingers to make sure she still had life in them somewhat. Her arms were sore considering that they had been wretched behind her back so the enemy could handcuff her. It was rather bad luck that civilians had been made to see everything. Now the enemy was going to spin everything to make her seem like the bad guy and maybe he was a terrorist or something. It wasn’t that farfetched. She had heard about what happened in Haifa, Israel two Keepers ago.

The fact that she was sitting in a chair was probably a good thing or a bad thing. The good thing was that they would ask her questions but the bad side was that they could smack her around and worst case, they would shoot her. They did manage to convince the Denver PD that they were feds of some sort and that meant that they could do whatever with her. So she was on her own in this one in terms of planning an escape and trying to execute it without getting killed.

Her mouth was gagged and they had covered her head on the way there. So they really wanted to keep a low tab on things meaning that if she should escape, she had no idea where she was. That didn’t matter as long as she was able to find a landmark or something and evade capture until she was far enough away. Then she would make her way to the Keeper and where he was supposed to head. At least he knew how to keep out of sight.

She had to admit that she hadn’t been impressed at first by the Keeper Kyros. She thought he was one of those crazy hippy people that were still prevalent here in the States. She had some idea that the Keepers were trained in how to defend themselves when it came down to it. For the most part, their greatest defense was their ability to run and blend into the crowds. They knew how to get lost so she was confident that Kyros would get to Sioux Falls. She just hoped that she was sure of herself in this predicament.

The door opened and in walked a man dressed in black. Well he looked more like a fed suit and all and he was even wearing glasses. Great. That was reassuring. She narrowed her eyes as he approached her. She backed away when his hands reached out to her and suddenly she found the gag out of her mouth. He said, “There. We can hardly expect an interrogation with you unable to talk.”

“Well if expect something out of me… I feel sorry for you,” Amunet retorted. Her dark skin and Arab features made her look like an exotic beauty. The goddess Isis said that she carried her family’s blood well and that it was full of history and tradition. Like that would help except to help her maintain a sense of pride.

“Oh you’ll tell s what you want to know. In the end you guardians always give something away.”

Amunet studied her captor. He was a member of the dark forces. Stories told said that they worshipped Set, the jealous brother of Osiris. There was never really any proof of that and there were rumors that there demons involved. Either way she had been taught that they wanted one thing and that was the Eye of Horus and she was not going to let them have it. “No way. We don’t give anything away.”

The guy in the suit smiled as he sat at the table that was there and opened up something that was on it. That didn’t spell good for Amunet but she wasn’t going to let on. Suit guy tapped the surface and looked at Amunet. “We’ll see about that. After all Khalil broke quite easily.” He pulled out a knife and held it close to her face. “Now first question: Where were you headed?”

Amunet narrowed her eyes. She didn’t relish the idea of getting cut but she had been taught to endure pain. She replied, “Vegas. It’s a lovely town this time of year.” The sarcasm was thick in her voice and that could spell trouble for her but she had to protect the Keeper.

The result was suit guy punching her across the face. That was the usual with interrogation. “Bullshit. You were heading north.” He put the knife back on the table and made to remove his suit jacket and roll up his sleeves. This was going to get dirty and he was going to enjoy it very much and on such a young one too.

“Gee that must mean you have a good sense of direction,” Amunet retorted as she moved her mouth. The punch hurt but it was the first in a long line of punches similar to that. This was just the beginning and it was only going to get rougher from there. She watched as the guy took off his jacket and roll up his shirt sleeves. The sarcasm was thick and heavy on her tongue, “Oh gotta get your hands dirty I see.”

Suit guy merely smile and gave Amunet a backhand across the face. He smiled at the red spot that formed. She was a pistol but she would break like all the others. Then they would find the Keeper and they would finally have the Eye. He asked, “Now I’m asking again, where were you heading?”

“Somewhere between New York and Pennsylvania,” Amunet muttered in reply. She didn’t care if she was quoting a musical at the moment. It was just something she felt like saying and if it prevented her from telling the truth while she thought of an escape plan, then that would be just fine.

The slap to the other cheek was expected and Amunet let her head go with the blow. It made it hurt less than trying to resist it. It was a trick the guardians of the temple taught her when she began training. She chuckled a little and replied, “What? Nobody does what you want because you’re obnoxious and disliked?”

Suit guy turned. He could hit her again and he could unleash some other means of extracting information but he was to take it slow. It was a lesson learned the hard way. Physical torture was something that could be ignored and placed aside but attacking the mind, give it a sense of hopelessness; it was what broke the first guardian. Since then they were able to extract information from other guardians but they got smarter too. They countered with mind defensive techniques as well as the supernatural defenses.

One of the things they checked the girl for were markings of any kind, tattoos, cicatrization or piercings. There was a tattoo on her lower back and it was Egyptian along with some Greco-Roman design. They had no idea it was a means of warding off possession as well as a few other things. It was an interesting design and for the ones who could work their power, that remained to be seen. That was to be for later.

Amunet was wondering about the delay. They were just getting started and so far she was not impressed. The delay also gave her time to study the ropes with her fingers. She didn’t want to play her ace unless she had to. Still she could provide a distraction. “Got nothing to say? A pity because I always like a good verbal sparring.” She wriggled her fingers and felt for the knots and the tautness of the ropes.

Suit guy turned to look at her. He definitely had a pistol here. It was almost like she wanted to get punished. “Oh I have plenty to say and we’re going to have a long time to get to know each other.” He walked to stand in front of his charge. “So you can just make it easier and tell us where you were taking the Keeper and you can go free or you can run that mouth of yours and suffer the consequences. It’s up to you.”

Amunet knew what her answer was. A plan was starting to form but she was going to have to be patient. She could hold out long enough. She blinked since her face was red and sore and replied, “Then we’re gonna be here for a long time because you ain’t getting nothing out of me.” Her lack of proper grammar was part of her plan at being annoying. She could be sarcastic but she always had a proper form of speech. “So to answer your question, we were heading north to see the world’s largest ball of twine.”

The slaps and punches that followed hurt like a bitch. Amunet grunted and went with the blow. Suit guy moved towards the door and slammed it shut. It was going to be a long interrogation.

****

“Alright Sam, cool it. What exactly did she say?”

Sam tried hard not to glare at Dean’s insistence of slowing down. He knew he shouldn’t be like an ass with his brother but he was just worried. Something in her voice told him that not everything was peachy even though she had spoken calmly and even sounded cheerful. As soon as she hung up, he almost dragged Dean out of the room before they were finished packing their gear.

Now Dean had managed to push Sam back into the room and was demanding his little brother to stop and tell him everything. Sam huffed and realized that he didn’t really give good cause for Dean to drop everything even though the job was finished. He pursed his lips to calm himself down and then replied, “She called asking if everything was fine like she did when… you know.”

Dean nodded, “Okay then but why are you having us evac outta here like the world’s going to end? Sam?” He frowned as he looked at his brother who looked deep in thought as if he suddenly weren’t sure about what he heard.

“She asked about us and I told her everything was fine. She sounded relieved like she was expecting the worst or something,” Sam continued knowing that he was going to have to paint the whole picture for Dean.

“Sounds normal. She fusses worse than Bobby over little stuff and often days down the road. Remember when she picked up on the fact we tangled with a tulpa in Texas?”

“She then asked to meet up and gave the name of a motel somewhere in Massachusetts.”

“Again normal thing, Sam. Well not exactly since this is a first we haven’t had her watching our backs,” Dean replied as an afterthought.

“Right and like it was coincidence we happen to take a case within a five hour driving distance for you from that place?” Sam knew he was grasping at straws here but something told him that something was off.

“Sam, that’s weak even for you. Even when we were separated she followed and before we met and she bailed us out she was always in the area.”

“Dean that was following us.”

“Alright then she stayed with Bobby for three months. The only time I know she followed us was to Frisco.” Dean paused as he looked at his brother. “Seriously Sam. What makes you think that she’s in trouble?”

“A gut feeling I guess. She did sound normal but Dean,” Sam paused and looked at his big brother hoping that he wouldn’t overreact to this whole dream thing, “I’ve had the same dream five times but they were all different but it was the same.”

“Yeah I get it and I thought we determined that it was because she was alone she dies. Are you saying that because we were there she dies anyway?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that it is not like the visions from the demon. These feel different,” Sam frowned not sure of what to make of it. “All I know is that I get them if something big is about to happen and it involves her. It’s like…” Sam trailed off and turned back to the room. “I don’t know. It could be nothing.” He started slowing down and packing his things and started taking the time to do it his way.

Dean studied his brother. He always knew that Sam and Angela were a pair. The attraction was that obvious. The fact though that Sam had been left with something from the demon bastard that killed their mom and it gave him abilities and he was picking up things involving her… that was a whole new level of weird. He never asked her about it figuring that she either didn’t know what was going or she had some clue but found it as ridiculous as her hooking up with a demon. Bad mental image there.

Dean knew that Sam had dreams about her before they hooked up. He teased him about her, calling her the fantasy girl that Sam kept in the closet. Then they meet her and she’s the exact description as the dream. It wasn’t coincidence. Maybe his brother could sense when she was in serious trouble just like she seemed to have this tick with detecting the supernatural. They had seen weirder with her around. Hell he had never seen a lizard head until they hunted one and then there were those people at the tournament.

Dean couldn’t deny that if they didn’t act on this, Sam was going to mope and he didn’t know which was worse: him or her. Making a decision he said, “Alright, well, I’m gonna see about checking out. Get the car loaded. We head out in ten.”

It turned out to be something of a pick upper for Sam. He was ready in five and was waiting by the car when Dean came out. Sam tossed Dean the keys and got in the Impala. They were on the highway within minutes.

“Okay Sam so which motel did she say and what town?”

“She said it was some place called the Wood Mill motel in Lawrence, Massachusetts,” Sam replied as he opened the roadmap that was always stashed in the Impala’s glove compartment.

“Lawrence?” Dean wondered if that was a coincidence.

Sam heard the tone in Dean’s voice and replied, “Different state Dean. I’m sure she didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I’m not saying that,” Dean said as he gave the Impala her head. It was their luck that they were in New Jersey on a poltergeist job. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had dropped that hint so they were within easy reach. Sometimes her mind thought differently and scarily enough at times like Sam was apt to do. There was the possibility that she had apprehension about the job she was working and she made the hint so they were within easy distance either way. That would be more like her.

Sam glanced at Dean and could tell that he was deep in thought. Sometimes he felt like an idiot for mentioning his feelings about things. He didn’t bat an eye when she fell through the roof when she was fixing the leak in the attic. It scared the crap out of them but she was fine even after being made to endure a mandatory visit to Doc Whittier who was more amused that she was covered in dust and cobwebs. “I know.”

Dean pursed his lips and flipped on the radio. It was more soothing to listen to music at the moment but his usual choice just didn’t seem to cut it. He flipped the station until it came to a country rock station. He looked over at Sam who was looking at him and retorted, “What?”

“Dude, seriously?”

“Shut up.”

Sam couldn’t help but grin. He didn’t say much the rest of the way there but kept checking to see if there was another phone call or even a text message. It was a long shot since she wasn’t chit chatty unless it was in person. Cell phones and laptops she acknowledged as a necessity but she sometimes viewed them as a burden.

It was a relief when they finally made it to the motel that was right on the river. Dean asked, “Room number?”

“Didn’t say except that it was the last one down the lane,” Sam replied. The town looked dingy and wondered why she was even in this place.

Dean said nothing and drove to the last door. It was their standard thing, except Darby, and Dean couldn’t blame her for that. They got out and looked at each other surprised that she hadn’t come out. She would have heard them. Dean was the one to knock on the door, “Angie?”

The door opened and a voice said, “You’re not breaking records Dean.”


	4. Chapter 4

Having lived five centuries, Angela could give a list of the different types of injuries she had seen and could give you the rundown on which ones you could hide under freak accidents and the like. She was no stranger to being injured herself and she had the scars, the ones that remained, to prove it. So she was used to the headache that usually came from having your head knocked about and was certain that she had some minor lacerations that a good coagulant could seal. The fact that everything was dark was troublesome.

Being adverse to hospitals, she ranted a little over why it was taking the doctor so long while trying hard not to bitch at the nurse that was crooning at how brave she was for saving that man from the explosion. Sentiments like that were just an annoyance just like wearing the gauze over her eyes was an annoyance but it was a necessity since she caught the blast face on. So she was waiting for a doctor to give the diagnosis, the prescription and then she was booking. Something about that shooting and the explosion didn’t set right with her.

That something was wrong with her eyes, she wasn’t going to question. Her body was telling her that and the fact that Rufus was huddling nearby told her that something was up. She waited until the nurse left before saying, “I know you’re there Rufus. You okay?”

“I’m fine except some cheeky girl decided I was young enough to play tackle football with,” Rufus retorted. It had been a close call and if she hadn’t pushed him out of the way, he would have been a stiff in the ground. The least he could do was make sure she was okay.

“Well you’re still standing now aren’t ya?”

“And you’re still here.”

Angela chuckled. “So you waiting until I can book?”

“Just wait and see what the doctor says,” Rufus replied.

It turned out not to be too long a wait. The doctor came in and began his examination. He was nice enough not to comment on her rescue since he saw the look on her face and the fact that she muttered about kicking someone’s ass for mentioning it again. He undid the wrap and waited for her reaction. Generally in his line of work, it was best to let the patient tell what they could and couldn’t see and then work with it.

Angela knew her eyes were open. She could feel them blink but she couldn’t see anything. Everything was dark but she could hear things. Boy was she in a load of shit. “Well I guess that’s that. Can’t see a thing.”

If the doctor was surprised at the response, he didn’t say anything. Instead he went over and examined the eyes. His diagnosis was simple, “Flash blindness from the explosion and I did see some debris which I was able to remove.”

“Okay so recovery rate?”

“It’s a slow process and there is the risk for it to become permanent if it gets infected.”

Angela made a slight motion with her head. That usually was the case. She had never had an eye injury before so she had no idea how long it would take for her healing ability to kick in. Then there was the chance that it wouldn’t get better. He did find debris in her eyes so that was a factor. However that wasn’t as pressing as the unease she felt. She needed to get to somewhere safe and where she could hide out while waiting for her eyes to right themselves or the boys came.

That she was calling the boys was a no brainer. She wasn’t stupid to stay too long on her own and with the clock winding down on Dean’s deal and the fact that Lilith was still on the rampage… she needed help. She said, “Okay then doc what do I need to do so that this doesn’t become permanent?”

“I’ll write a prescription for dilating drops but I do recommend you see an ophthalmologist since there is some burning on your cheeks which were cleaned with no problems. It could be a more serious burn. The point is that you need to rest your eyes so I am going to insist that you wear the gauze pads for the next 24-28 hours.”

Angela felt like she was being tied with a leash but she did have to admit that doctors and that included healers made the worst patients. She knew that she was going to have a rough time of it the next few days or so. She didn’t even like the fact that she had burns on her face that according to Doctor Who was not that bad on her skin but it could have spelled bad for her eyes. She looked in Rufus’ direction and back and replied, “No problem then. Where are the release forms?”

It took longer than she would have liked to get released AMA but in the end they let her go. She understood what she was supposed to do and even gave a nice snow job about her friend taking her to see her brothers. All the while she was anxious. She got the feeling that she was being watched and she wanted to get lost as soon as possible. Something wasn’t right and she was in a vulnerable state and would rather be with people she was comfortable with. It wasn’t a random thing like the police made it seem. This was target specific and she had a gut feeling.

“Rufus, can you drive me?”

“You think I’m a taxi service?” Rufus looked at Angela taking in for the moment that she was taking this way better than most people and she took to the cane she was given quite easily. She just told them to give it to her even though they said it was a temporary thing and he could swear that the look she shot even though her eyes were covered were intimidated even the toughest nurse there.

He did want to get going himself but he wasn’t going to leave her there. He could take her to where she needed to go and make sure that she had someone coming. He looked at her as she followed him to the pickup she drove over to see him. “Why do you need to book so badly aside from the fact that you seem to hate hospitals?”

“I need to get to Lawrence, Rufus. I can’t explain it but that attack was no accident and the sooner I get to a place where I can feel somewhat secure, then I’m good,” Angela replied as she ran her fingers on the door and popped it open.

Rufus opened his side and got in, “So why not have me drive you all the way to Bobby’s? I can tolerate his ass long enough to give him back his stray.”

“Bobby’s not in the best of moods with me right now.”

“Right about that thing you asked for. Why are you trying to save a demon?”

“Not because I have a thing for him,” Angela replied as she shut the door. She adjusted the dark sunglasses to make sure they were on. They covered the patches really well and it saved from people asking peculiar questions. “He’s like you. He knows things and frankly he’s my stoolie and I want him back.”

Rufus started the engine and turned the battered pickup towards the highway to get to Lawrence, Massachusetts. “Most people would just get another one.”

“You have any idea how long it takes to train a stoolie to your liking, especially a demon one?” Angela looked towards the driver’s side with a wry grin on her face. In her lap was a small bag with the drops she had been given. She didn’t look forward to that prospect since she couldn’t see a thing and more likely she would poke her eye out.

“Point taken but still you know Bobby.”

“I know. The sad thing is he knows a lot of what I intend to do and he knows he should stop me but he’s helping me anyway.”

“You must have a silver tongue to work that kind of magic,” Rufus replied. He certainly thought so since she managed to work her way to his motel and get what she came for plus she helped out with the nest of vamps the night before. He still couldn’t believe though that she was half vampire.

“I can be persuasive but…” Angela shrugged her shoulders and went silent.

Nothing more was said until Rufus found a motel in Lawrence and paid for a single. He got her inside and asked, “What now?”

“You can go. You’ve done enough Rufus and I suspect that you’ll hold this over me for a long time,” Angela replied as she sat on the bed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. At least let me stay until your people come.”

“No. I think this thing is after me and the less you see of me now the better,” Angela replied as she rubbed her head with one hand while fishing her cell phone out of her jacket pocket with the other. “Besides Sam and Dean know me and have worked with me. They know how to avoid these kinds of things.”

Rufus shook his head. She was a stubborn ass but he liked it. He replied, “Fine but I’m stocking you up on some food before I go.” He turned to leave the room, making sure there was a key on the dresser just in case.

“Can you bring some pie?”

Angela laughed as Rufus grumbled. She could hear his footsteps head to the truck and the engine started. She flipped open her cell phone and felt it over. Funny how some things were taken for granted like sight. She did have a nice lesson in that at the Morton House. Good thing there was such a thing as speed dial. She brushed her thumb over the keypad and pressed and held down a number. She waited while it rang and prayed for a voice to answer.

It warmed her heart when she heard Sam’s voice. So she pressed his speed dial number. She answered his call as she normally would. She could tell by his voice that he had been jittery and it seemed like he might have driven Dean crazy with her being gone. Dean probably did the same thing since they both insisted on being helpless with basic housekeeping. She didn’t tell him exactly what happened but said that the job was finished and asked if they could meet her at her motel and gave the town and which one it was.

The waiting seemed long but at least Rufus left her with a nice supply of food and drink, including a bottle of whiskey which they shared before he booked. She thanked him and gave a nice kiss to the cheek. She grinned when she heard him grumble and she added the parting shot, “I’ll get the truck the next time I’m in Canaan.”

She was left to her own devices and she spent the time learning to move and walk without someone’s elbow. True it was only a room but she needed to learn this if she needed to get on the move and fast. She was able to learn the whole layout of the room with the cane before leaning it discreetly in the corner near the bed and started walking without it. She stubbed her toe twice but persisted in it until she could make a circuit around the room for various things.

It was nerve wracking when she heard the door knock and Dean calling her name. She hadn’t mentioned what happened but her thinking was that they would have broken speed limits and all sorts of traffic laws to get there. Taking a breath, she walked to the door and opened it, aware that it was strange for her to be wearing sunglasses in the room with the late afternoon sun heading down in the west. She teased, “You’re not breaking records here Dean,” referring to his bragging about his timing their rides cross country.

It was automatic for Dean to retort, “Depends on the situation. Emergencies I’d be here faster.”

“Good thing this isn’t an emergency,” Angela replied. She stepped back to let them in and walked to sit on the bed. “You boys have a good hunt.”

Dean wasn’t stupid. He noticed that she was wearing shades but he wasn’t going to jump to insane conclusions. When Sam got a migraine, he wore glasses because of increased sensitivity to light. He figured this was the same thing. He replied, “Got rid of the damn thing though it tossed us around a bit. I nearly got skewered.”

“Shish kabob Dean I see,” Angela replied. “So how did it feel not having me around?”

Sam was following Dean’s lead but he was more observant of the room. He noticed the can by the dresser and swallowed down the urgent question he wanted to ask. He was sort of annoyed that she was insisting on pleasantries since he was certain that not everything was right. He replied, “Boring.”

Angela raised her brow and moved her head slightly in Sam’s direction. She heard the tone of voice. “Really? I thought you’d boys would love doing the duo act again.”

“It’s no fun without you Angie. So you get everything you need?” Dean looked over at Sam and found him staring. He then noticed something. Angela was staring right at Sam who was staring at something leaning against the wall. She had to be seeing what he was doing but she wasn’t commenting on it. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

Angela replied, “Everything and then some. Did the job and it ended sooner than expected. You want some pie?”

Dean watched her movements. “Sure.”

Angela nodded and stood up. She started to where Rufus left the foodstuffs and didn’t know that Dean purposely stuck his foot in her way. When she hit it with her foot, she stopped and stood there and sighed. Dean knew that Sam had watched the whole thing too. Something had happened. Dean asked, “What happened, Angie?”

“It’s just flash blindness,” Angela replied. “It’ll clear up on its own. It usually does.”

“Okay then why not say anything over the phone? We would have been here sooner,” Dean scolded her like he would Sam for being a dumbass like he was with his shoulders from the poltergeist. He crossed his arms while she stood there just staring at him. It was disconcerting because she was looking at him but not seeing him and he knew when she was spacing out.

“And breaking traffic laws and landing your asses in jail and what would I do then?” Angela knew she was being scolded but she wasn’t beaten yet. She could still dish it out if needs be. “Besides that’s not the problem.”

“Sure,” Dean nodded in mock seriousness with the sarcasm dripping heavily. “Because being blind is like a walk in the park for you right?” Dean couldn’t help but be like the concerned parent. If he had stopped to think about it, he would have realized that he was acting just like his father which would account for the slightly bemused expression on Angela’s face.

“Don’t sass me boy,” Angela replied as she moved her head up as if she were looking Dean in the eye. “It took me two hours to memorize the layout of this room alone and I wasn’t even focused on the room but more on how do it automatically. So it seems like I’m handling this better than you.”

“Yeah with the patience of a saint.”

The smack to the back of the head was a long time in coming and Dean felt it as he rubbed the back of his head while looking at her. How she did that without being able to see had him stunned as much as the fact that she smacked him. Dean looked at her, “What the…?”

“Dean,” Sam finally said. He had watched the whole thing and didn’t say a word mostly because he was trying hard not to freak out with the fact that he might be having visions again. All of them had her blind in them and now here she was diagnosed with flash blindness…

“Sam, she didn’t say anything…”

“You don’t need to shout. I’m blind, not deaf and the reason I didn’t say anything was because I was more concerned by the fact that this accident wasn’t an accident,” Angela replied calmly and softly.

“What makes you say that?” Sam asked since Dean was still in shock over the fact that she could still deliver a good head smack that accurately.

“The person that I was meeting, we finished the job early and were having coffee… I think at 6:30am. We were going our separate ways when I just had a feeling. I turn and see one of those laser targeting thingies and reacted. Took cover and boom. Lucky shot and then this,” Angela summed as she pointed at her face. She glanced in the direction she was sure the boys were in and just stood there. What was she going to do?

“So you think that whatever it is… is after you?” Sam hated to ask but it certainly was answering questions he had been asking himself.

“Possibly. I haven’t gotten rid of this feeling yet. Thing is I don’t know why and that’s what bothers me,” Angela replied before she turned and headed in the direction where her bag of food was. She was serious about the pie but that could wait. It seemed that Rufus had grabbed road food both healthy and more Dean healthy. She grabbed one of those snack bars and held it in her hands. “For all I know it could be random but…” She turned to look at the boys. She knew it was a lot to take in especially that she was looking at them but not seeing them.

Dean looked at Sam who appeared to be thoughtful. No doubt Sam was making connections between his dreams and this and it occurred to him that maybe Sam was thinking visions here. He also knew well enough not to take her feelings lightly when it came to stuff like this. The best thing he could come up with was to head back to Bobby’s. “Okay then so what do we do? You talk to Bobby yet?”

“No and I don’t think he’s in the mood to talk to me,” Angela replied as she toyed with the package.

Both Sam and Dean could understand that. It was only because Bobby cared about her. Whatever it was, it had to be something that Bobby considered stupid and was only looking out for her. Of course she would have listened and then did her own thing anyway. That was how she worked once she set her mind to something and had considered all the options.

Not standing the silence, Angela said, “Look we can stick around tonight and then figure out what to do in the morning or we can book now. It’s up to you.”

Dean glanced at Sam. This was a new situation for the both of them. Right now Sam was just relieved that she wasn’t seriously injured like gaping wounds kind of injury. The blind thing was just something that was going to take time. He made a motion with his face at Dean and he nodded. Dean replied, “Alright, we’ll stay. I’ll talk to Bobby. Just don’t get into any trouble.”

That was all well and said but it seemed like Dean wanted to cause trouble. First he tried making it so that they were all crashing in the same room. Angela shot him down quickly and said that she would rather sleep in the Impala and made to carry out her threat. She left the room after grabbing her cane and room keys and crossed the room like it was nothing.

Sam waited until she left before saying, “Nice Dean.”

“Hey I’m just trying to help,” Dean replied, “Besides if there is someone following her…”

Sam made a slight eye roll, “That is weak even for you. Dean, she just wants help in that we have her back… not babying her.” He was going to say something else, “Look I’ll see if we can get the room next door.”

“I’ll get it,” Dean replied realizing he did commit a serious error. He knew as well as Sam that Angela had a huge independent streak. She was new into losing one of her senses and he should have known that she was feeling vulnerable even though she wasn’t showing it. He left the room to head to the main office to book him and Sam a room. He managed to look at the Impala and grew concerned that she wasn’t even in there but he wasn’t going to get hysterical unless there was a reason. He felt a small measure of relief when Sam came out.

Sam knew that Dean needed time to think about things. He knew Dean meant well and Angela did too and knew she would eventually be her usual self. That was after she had her thinking time and thinking about it made him want to laugh a little since the last few times ended up with her engaging in a sparring match.

His reason to look for her was to make sure she didn’t get into trouble. She got into plenty of it with her sight. He could only imagine the amount without her sight. Plus he just didn’t want his latest set of dreams to come true. So far what he had seen hadn’t but the fact that this latest set had her in her current state dying… He wasn’t sure if he was going crazy with everything that was going on.

He followed Dean out and his first thought was to check the Impala. She wasn’t in there and he made sure to check really good since she did manage to pull the same thing on the Morton House. He looked up and looked around and thought about where she may go. He took off in a direction that seemed most likely.

Sam had to admit that he thought this town and this area was not exactly the best part of town. On the way down, he read that Lawrence, Massachusetts was a very poor city and a fairly high crime rate. It was a milling town in its heyday and then when the mills closed, everything went down. He hated to think that she would walk into a situation that was directed at her… It made him look harder and faster.

He was about to give up and mount an official search and call Dean to start looking when laughter caught his attention. He rounded a corner and came across a group of drunks and they were pointing and jeering at someone. A closer look revealed that someone was Angela and she wasn’t afraid but rather she was alert and tense; she was ready to strike and it was for the kill if necessary.

“Hey sweet thing, you need a hand?”

Sam clenched his fists and swallowed down the anger that threatened. He wanted nothing more than to rush in there and start swinging but that was reckless even for him so he forced himself to remain calm. He started walking forward just as Angela said, “If I need a hand, I prefer someone who didn’t stink of vomit and booze. Excuse me.”

She tried walking past them but was stopped and wheeled around. The guy who was talking said, “Oh we’re not through yet.” He then said something in a language that Sam didn’t understand but he knew for certain that she did seeing that she stiffened slightly before her lips turned into a scowl.

It was the last straw when the guy pushed her against the dumpster that was nearby and reached for her neck. Sam shouted, “Hey!”


	5. Chapter 5

_Sailing seven seas and her name was his most ardent plea. Death to the Argo._

Angela recognized the language and the first part she thought it was an old riddle. The last part had her pause. She was one of the few people who knew who Jason really was. Something was up and it wasn’t good. She looked at the guy who was talking but couldn’t see him. It hurt but not much when she was slammed into what she figured was a dumpster. She could tell by the smell.

“Hey!”

Angela turned towards the sound. She knew that voice loud and clear. It was a relief to hear Sam’s voice but it was also a worry. She could pick out at least five guys from what her other senses were telling her. “Sam?”

“So the princess has a bodyguard? How pathetic.”

Sam stood looking at what appeared to be five guys. That would consider being outnumbered but considering the odds he’d been against… it was nothing. The only thing that was distracting was Angela since he didn’t know if she would be able to help or not. Right now his concern was getting her out of harm’s way. “Leave her alone.”

“And what are you going to do about it?” The leader approached Sam with his arms open and inviting Sam to take a swing if he dared.

Angela couldn’t see where all the players were. So she reached out with her senses. She tried moving a little bit away but was caught by her upper arms. She wriggled as that happened and grunted providing a distraction and Sam looked in her direction.

The leader took the opportunity to give a punch to Sam’s chest and cross to the face. That started the fight and immediately the others started in with the punches on Sam. Sam for his part did what he could to counter the blows. He lashed out in all directions to give the douches an equal share of his punches.

Angela struggled in the bear grip that one guy had her in. It was a strong grip but not too strong and she had been held in bear grips before. The guy whispered in her ear and taunted about Sam getting his ass beaten. He gave a pretty vivid description of it and it felt like watching it in high-definition like in Cold Oak. It was only inevitable that she would react and it wasn’t a going to be pretty. She gritted her teeth and said, “You know. Your buddies may be having fun beating up my friend but you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Angela was right in that they hadn’t seen nothing. She gave a hard elbow to the mid-section of the guy holding her. Once she was released, she twirled around and reached up with her arms and grabbed the guy in a chokehold and held on. She held on until the guy passed out and then dropped him. Twirling her cane in her hands, she advanced towards the group by following the sounds.

She found one and with a grin that would creep anyone out, she tapped his shoulder while saying, “Knock, knock.”

It was a matter of listening to the sounds people didn’t listen for and they were gold. Angela blocked with her forearm and then with the cane, brought it up like she would like a nightstick and hit the guy across the face. That got the others’ attention and they wheeled on her. She could hear their footsteps and suddenly an old memory popped in. She remembered when she actually had been put through blindfold training and it caused her to grin again. She twirled the cane like she would a staff and asked, “Whose next, bitch?”

Sam tried to fend them off but a few blows did get in and he was getting punched from all sides. Most of the shots landed on his body but they were right on target for the pain. He tried to fight back but one of them tripped him and he did a face plant, scrapping his palms on the asphalt. He heard laughter and then the timbre changed after hearing, “Knock, knock.”

Sam looked up to see Angela blocking a blow and knocking a guy senseless. He looked on in surprise as he watched Angela twirl her cane and asked who was next. He saw the grin that she gave knew that it spelled trouble. It certainly was trouble as one after the other the bastards lunged towards her and it was like his dream. She was swinging that cane around like she would a staff and hitting them in places that he knew it would hurt.

He was on his feet to catch the stragglers who had stumbled back and give them a couple of punches. He managed to give a boot to the leader who got a nice one across the face and watched as they ran away. He had no idea who those guys were except that they were pretending to be drunk and were after her. He turned to check on her and almost got a face full of cane. He caught it just before it hit his head, “Whoa. It’s me Angie.”

Angela smiled and if her eyes weren’t covered they would have been twinkling with laughter. She replied, “I know that Sam. I have four other senses to work with in order to see with.” She backed off and twirled the cane before setting it down and turning into a meek blind girl. “That was fun.”

Sam rubbed his jaw since one fist clipped him. He took in a few breaths as he studied her. “You would find it fun.” He wasn’t pleased that she had wandered off like she did but he did have to admit that she handled herself pretty good. “Where did you learn how to do that though?”

Angela continued smiling and replied as she dusted herself off, “Part of my training. I had forgotten. I sucked at it badly which is probably why I had forgotten.”

Sam chuckled at that. “Really? I think that was badass if you ask me.”

“Well I didn’t like the fact that I spent countless hours training you and you were getting your ass kicked.” Angela leaned a bit on her cane. She continued smiling like it was a joke. “You know that reflects badly on me and you Champion.”

“Uh I was sucker punched and then ambushed,” Sam replied giving a slight scoff in jest.

“And I set Fang Boy’s trainees on you and they did the same thing.” Angela then started chuckling. “I know I am terrible with the teasing. I thought you did pretty well in your defense.”

“You know, you…” Sam couldn’t think of anything to say. He was grinning as he shrugged his shoulders. “You really are terrible.”

“And what would you do without me?”

“The world would end,” Sam replied with a solemn expression. He didn’t know why he said that but it seemed right. He and Dean depended on her that she was like the heart of their team. They were family and he knew his world would break apart if something were to happen to Dean and he didn’t even want to think about the clock ticking down to the end with Dean’s contract.

“Then I guess I’m going to have to wean you and Dean easy if I have to do a solo hunt.”

“Please.”

“I’m not saying right now.” Angela gave a slight punch to Sam’s shoulder. This banter they were having was friendly and pretty effective in hiding the fact that she had been scared that Sam might have been hurt and she was not in the position to treat serious injuries. It was also hard being friendly when in her heart she felt much more. “I meant if _they_ want me back to do a job and it requires discretion. That’s not going to be likely anytime soon.”

“Good cause with the way things are now and the fact that I am starting to think that you are right about what happened to uh…”

Angela knew Sam was trying to be sensitive. She also knew that they had to get back. She was due for her drops and she was starving. She reached out and grasped his elbow and made a slight motion that he was to start walking. “Well at least I’m not crazy.”

Sam started walking and looked down at her hand on his elbow. “Who said that?”

“You know I occasionally call myself that and relax Sam. This is a way to assist someone who has trouble seeing.” Angela adjusted her hold on the cane. She held it ready to use as a weapon just in case they came back. “I did know about the statistics of this town and it probably wasn’t the best idea to be wandering around like I was.”

Sam looked ahead and upwards at the fast darkening sky. “I understand why. You know Dean’s just being the older brother.”

“I know and you both know that you’re dealing with someone who has been at this job solo for a long time. Habits are hard to change and that is coupled with an independent streak that I was told I was born with.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed,” Sam replied in sarcasm but it was in jest.

“You would have eventually,” Angela teased right back. “After I discovered yours and Dean’s stubborn streak,” she added as an afterthought.

Sam couldn’t help but make a slight face that threatened into a smile. “Why do I even bother arguing with you?”

“Because you enjoy the fact that eventually you’re going to lose,” Angela supplied.

“Right, because you argue semantics.” Sam was relieved that they made it back to the motel. Dean was looking a bit livid that he had been kept waiting as he lounged against the Impala.

“And I can argue logic.”

“Where have you two been? This ain’t the countryside you know,” Dean called out as they approached. He didn’t fail to notice that Sam had been escorting Angela by having her hang onto his elbow. He wasn’t stupid and knew that it was done out of necessity but it was start in terms of hoping to get his geeky sidekick to realize a few things.

“I know that now,” Angela replied as she released Sam’s elbow. She looked at Dean and asked, “Any trouble with the manager?”

Dean couldn’t help but grin. “No because someone managed to pay for a second room and all I had to do was check in. You always have to do that?”

“Peace offering.”

Dean smiled in return. He had been thinking too as he sat waiting for Sasquatch and the Virago to come back. He knew he overreacted a little and he knew that girls liked their privacy as much as guys did. He and Angela were alike in that they had a temper and said things and then needed time to cool off. Funny thing was she seemed to cool off much quicker and the record breakers came when Sam talked to her. He was usually the chick magnet but then again this was Angela and she was not one of those chicks.

“So are we grabbing something to eat or sitting out here?”

Dean looked at Sam with a devilish grin. Sam’s face warned him not to do it. Dean ignored it. “You’re hungry? I thought that snack bar filled you up.”

Angela moved her head as she listened. She could hear Dean’s stomach growling and she smiled, “And I’m surprised you didn’t filch my pie since I can hear the tremors from your stomach.”

“Pie is sacred. You don’t mess with another man’s pie unless permission is given,” Dean replied.

“Oh? So then what happens when something does happen like pie gets eaten without permission of the owner? The chair?”

“Never happened,” Dean replied. He crossed his arms and gave Sam a smug look. He knew where this was going and he could anticipate her next move. He picked up a few of her habits and this happened when they played chess a few times.

“Right. I seem to recall a piece of pie that disappeared under mysterious circumstances and someone tried to say that it was a spirit or even try to accuse a freakishly tall little brother of stealing while trying to maintain an angelic face,” Angela replied crossing her arms in self-satisfaction.

Sam scoffed a little as it turned into a chuckle. Dean shot a look at him that told him to shut up but Sam replied, “She has you on that one, Dean.”

“Bite me.”

“Only if you tasted good,” Angela replied. “So I guess none of my pie for you and I expect you to restock Cerebus’ dog doughnuts the next time we get back to Sioux Falls.”

Sam threw a look at Dean, “You’re still eating the dog’s biscuits?”

“Hey they’re good and they’re healthy for people. That should be good enough for you Francis,” Dean replied feeling like his ship was getting blasted full of holes and he was sinking fast. It wasn’t his fault that they tasted better than some of his jelly filled doughnuts.

Sam couldn’t argue with that. He did share in that by trying one since he couldn’t figure out why Dean kept trying to eat the whole thing. He ate half and gave the rest to Cerebus after discovering that they were pretty good and wondered how she came up with the idea for the mutt’s biscuits. At least Dean didn’t catch him otherwise that would have been fuel for the fire. He replied, “You’re a human garbage disposal you know that?”

“So is Angie.”

“Are you implying that I’m a pig?”

Dean looked at her and recognized the dangerous look. “Um… well you can eat enough for three people when you’re starving but I find it cool that you don’t gain a pound from it.”

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose thinking that Dean was going to get it later. He was right on that point since the wheels were turning in her head. Her response though was a bit surprising, “You really need to work on your saves Dean. Any other girl would probably…”

“But I know you Sis.”

“So you say. Now can we find something that resembles a food joint?”

****

Thomas rubbed his jaw as he looked at the men he had requested. It was a sudden inspiration for him; the idea that he had. It was just one more way of testing to make sure that his target was the one. Of course he had to check in with queen bitch and she listened and was willing to let him do it. She even sent him the three backups that were with him including Peyton. Five would be enough.

The plan was simple since they were able to track her to Lawrence. He didn’t make his move though even when her companion left her alone. He figured something was up and he was right when hours later a classic black car pulled up and two men exited it. The driver was shorter than his shaggy haired partner and looked the tougher of the two with the biker boots and jeans. The partner looked like a kid fresh out of college and he had a worried expression on his face.

His hunch was right when they knocked on her door and she let them in. It wasn’t too long afterwards that she left the room and headed towards the main office and then started off down the street. Then the shorter one exited and then the taller one and they split up with the driver heading to the main office.

Even though Thomas had a low opinion of the tall man in terms of his appearance, he had learned that it was best not to underestimate the opponent. Most people he had seen would assume that he was trouble since he was taller and pull out the big guns. Thomas could see different. He could see that the gentle nature was natural but hidden was a beast. That was the sort of thing Thomas liked to bring out when he sparred with his unit.

The plan was to surround the warrior princess and see what she would do. She was blind so she would be somewhat helpless but Thomas wasn’t going to underestimate that either. He had warned the men that it was a test so if serious injury came to the target, then there would be hell to pay and not just from him but from the bitch princess as well.

It worked out as a drunken act routine since she was near a bar. They stumbled out and towards her, jeering at her. He was the one that made the catcalls and tried to goad her. He had to admit that she held her temper fairly well. He could see her jaw muscles twitch when he started really laying the heckling on thick. She still didn’t raise a hand and he figured it was because she couldn’t see, she had no way to gauge her plan of attack. It was most amusing and Thomas decided to make things interesting. He pushed her into the dumpster and said the key phrase that he had been told only the warrior princess would be able to make sense of and know what he was talking of. He muttered it in the ancient Greek.

It worked and she paused. He knew it was definitely her because while she may not have understood the riddle completely, she knew what he was talking about. It was even better when the tall guy came to her rescue. Sam was the name she called him. He rather liked the name and it was going to make things all the more interesting once the Eye was drawn in.

Sam proved to be an able fighter when he was not being winded from the punch he gave him after Peyton grabbed her and held her. He held up his own pretty good and Thomas saw some moves that he hadn’t seen from anyone else. He would have loved to have fought Sam one on one in a match to the death if needs be. It would prove to be a better challenge than some of his other opponents.

It wasn’t too fun when they got him down but certainly satisfying in trying to beat him to a pulp. What Thomas didn’t expect was for her to tap his recruit and reveal her position. Now that he had time to think about it, he had to admit that it was very clever. It gave Sam some breathing room while she pounded on his man. He had noticed Peyton passed out and was surprised at how she was able to get free.

Her taunt, “Whose next bitch,” proved to be one of the more interesting choice words he had ever heard.

Thomas didn’t go in first but his men did and he followed. He certainly didn’t expect her to dodge the blows as if she were seeing them and he certainly didn’t expect for her cane to hurt as much as it did when she swung it and struck at them. He underestimated her ability to use her other senses and he didn’t even consider that she might have had some training with a blindfold. Still he went at her trying to get her to slip up and to see what she would do.

That she was good with a staff went without saying. She twirled that cane with expert precision and knew where to grip it to keep the weight in balance. She got him good across the face and was good with her feet and she had given him a nice kick to his side. It was not so fun to see Sam going after the ones she stunned and adding his licks.

Knowing that he and his men could be given a serious ass kicking, he gave the signal and they retreated. He didn’t appreciate it when he collided with Sam and the man gave him a boot on his ass. However they had to keep up with the plan to be the drunken idiots. So he made himself stumble a bit as he and his men ran away dragging Peyton with him. They went to where their safe house was in that slum of a town and treated the injuries which were substantial.

Thomas knew that she was the warrior princess. He had to make the call and inform the bitch queen. He left his men and went to a room where he was in no danger of being overheard. He called the number and waited for it to be picked up.

_Yes?_

“It is done,” Thomas replied.

_And the verdict?_

Thomas glanced at the door for a moment before replying, “We launched an attack and it is clear that the target is the warrior princess.”

_Any signs of powers?_

“Nothing of that sort,” Thomas replied aware that part was a disappointment. She would have been much happier confirming that powers had been used. “She did managed to take out four at a time and without her sight. Not a blow landed on her.”

_Still doesn’t prove that it is her._

“I would think so. It is said that she exhibits prowess with anything and turn it into a weapon.” Thomas paused to listen to the response and any other noises that might occur. They usually told him what kind of mood she was in.

_An interesting observation Thomas but without a specific show of power, we can’t say for certain._

Thomas had to admit that was true. The key lay in her use of her abilities but something in his gut told him that the one he fought was the one they were after. She adapted quickly to her handicap and was able to kick his and his men’s asses. Maybe there was something else and the bitch queen would know. He replied, “She wasn’t alone though.”

_Really? So she has a companion. Do you have a name?_

“She called him Sam. Does that mean anything?”

The pause was a deafening silence. It had Thomas on edge since that could mean a number of things. There was the possibility that she was doing her best to control her temper. She could be interested in that fact. It could be that it was unexpected and she was trying to deal with that point. There were hundreds of possibilities and he was stuck in the middle. That is if she didn’t decide to burn him by having him do something like commit ritual suicide.

_This one named Sam. Does he have a brother named Dean?_

Thomas frowned. He didn’t know but experience taught him to give every detail he knew. Otherwise he might as well be looking for new employment and that would be on the flipside of being alive. He replied, “I can’t say. However he did arrive with a partner. They came in a black car, classic model.”

The humming sounds were a positive as Thomas listened. It was obvious that she knew that it was important. Maybe he had done well but he wasn’t to know unless she said something. He could wait even though it was near killing him.

_I think you may have struck gold._

“So this is the one we are looking for?”

_Oh yes. That sneaky little Grecian. Thomas this is the best news you’ve given me in all the years you have served._

“I aim to please,” Thomas uttered automatically. He really didn’t like her but the mission of their band… that was important. He didn’t have to like his leaders as long as they stayed true to the calling. “Is there anything that I need to do?”

_Yes. Thomas, she is the one and the ones accompanying her confirm it. They will be her greatest weakness. This will be perfect and we will have the Eye._

Thomas wasn’t sure about what he just heard but it seemed that the plans were going to move forward. “So I take it the plans are moving forward?”

_Yes. Watch them but be careful. They are very good._

“I will.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Okay so you two get into another fight with some douchebags and you think it confirms Angie’s bad feelings?” Dean was trying to make sense out of the whole thing while they were waiting for the waitress to get to them. He looked at Sam who was making a slight face that was confirming what he asked while Angela was washing her hands. “So who is after her this time? Lenya? Ruby?”

“Dean, Ruby helped out Angie a few times,” Sam reminded his brother. He himself thought it might be Lenya since he wanted to issue payback for her idea of fun.

“Well didn’t your dreams give any clue?”

“No just that some were in suits and some in robes, priest robes to be exact,” Sam replied as sort of tapped the table. He wasn’t sure of what to make of it either. There had been nothing to indicate who they were.

“Okay so it’s a psycho religious group then,” Dean asserted. “And they sent five drunks after her?”

“It was a ruse Dean. They were good and she kicked their asses.”

“She did? Angie?” Dean pointed in the direction of the restroom. “How? She can’t… you know…”

“She had training,” Sam replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He knew though that Dean wouldn’t quite believe it unless he saw it. “Thing hunters did in those days.”

“And how do you know that?”

“She told me.”

“Oh.”

“I take it that you are having trouble believing that,” Angela said as she sidled up next to Dean and stood there.

“It just sounds…”

“A little kung fu like,” Angela supplied without malice. She heard Sam move over and she moved to take a seat. It was always like that and she silently thanked whoever that the usual was always adhered to on the little things. It was part of the whole anchor thing in her mind since she couldn’t see a damn thing.

“Yeah. I know you’re good Angie but what Sam was saying…”

“I did have training. It’s an old school technique and hunters were trained in that. Remember Augie?” Angela folded her hands on top of the table after folding up the cane with ease and tucking it between her and Sam.

“I know you trained her to see and those are her words,” Dean replied. It was strange that she was wearing dark glasses in a building and it was nighttime. It was still her though. The same teasing manner that continually had him frustrated in his attempts to best her was still there. Nothing changed except for the fact that she couldn’t see now. It seemed like a bad dream since he remembered when she was running around without her vamp half. He never told Sam about that but it haunted him that she was willing to give that up for him. To him that was like taking a piece of her away.

Angela sensed that Dean was thinking of other things as he said that. She could hear it in the tone of voice but decided against saying anything. She guessed that he was remembering the last time she was handicapped and that was in terms of her vampire abilities and she figured he never said a word of it to Sam. She kept the gist of the conversation and replied, “My blindfold training was a way of learning to see without sight. Augie learned other things that were in sync with her abilities.”

“I would think so considering how that girl could see right through you.”

“Seeing auras usually does that.”

A thought occurred to Sam. He asked, “Can you do that? See auras?”

“No. Nothing like that. Emotions are my thing and frankly I wish it wasn’t tied in with my telepath. A lot of havoc there besides making people run butt naked through the streets.”

Their conversation was interrupted even though there were a few snickers that sounded like coughing when the waitress came to take their order. Dean flirted shamelessly with her and ordered his usual cheeseburger with extra onions and fries. By the time she got to Angela though, she made a few mistakes. She was a nice girl but very ignorant of the signs that were right in front of her. She asked, “What do you want?”

Angela had no idea what was on the menu and had listened to what the boys ordered. She was hungry but for something that was a step down from Dean’s grease ball and a step up from the salad Sam had ordered. She would have liked a happy medium. She asked, “What kind of sandwiches do you have?”

“You have your menu opened right at them.”

Angela though exerted patience. She made a slight gesture with her head and replied, “Can you please tell me what they are, please?”

Sam and Dean both saw that faux paus and realized that it was more of an annoyance. Sam was the first to recover the fumble so to speak and asked, “Is there something you have in mind?”

“Nothing with beef,” Angela replied looking straight ahead.

Sam did a quick look. There was a smoked turkey sandwich and he knew she was partial to those. “The turkey okay?”

“That’s fine. I’ll have that with fruit,” Angela replied with a nod of appreciation. “And water please.” She closed the menu and handed it to the waitress without so much as a look. As if she could see the dumb bitch anyway. “Thank you.”

Dean waited until she was gone before saying, “Sorry about that.”

“What are you apologizing for Dean? It’s a mistake.” Angela sat back in the booth and sorely missed having a paper to read but she couldn’t do that either. She had to laugh at the expression about the patience of the blind. Whoever said that never seriously considered how you missed something until it was taken from you.

Dean looked at Sam who just gave a silent shake of his head. This was going to take some getting used to. He said, “Okay. It’s just this is going to take some getting used to.”

“I know. Talk about an exercise in patience right Dean,” Angela replied with a smile to let him know that she was okay now. “But that’s something that’s going to have to be learned while this job’s in the works.”

Sam glanced at her. He thought she was handling this way too well and suspected that her true feelings were being hidden under that same façade Dean would throw up when he didn’t want people to know how he felt. This wasn’t easy he was certain and he wanted to help and he was sure Dean did too but it was a matter of finding that balance. It was a matter of paying attention like he and Dean would if she could see. He followed her train of thought, “So do you have any idea about those guys?”

“Well I don’t know them but something their ringleader said had me thinking.”

Dean took Sam’s lead and asked, “Okay so what was it?”

Angela wasn’t sure how to present this. She remembered Sam’s reaction from the tournament when she first introduced them. Yet if this was related to Jason and something else… She made a slight click with her tongue and replied, “Well, do either of you remember Jason from the tournament?”

“Oh yeah. The guy liked to talk about boats and the ocean. Took a liking to you didn’t he Sam?” Dean replied as he smiled in recognition of the name. He rather liked the guy and he was one of the few people that wasn’t something that could be ganked.

“Eat me,” Sam replied with an annoyed look. He then looked at Angela and added, “So what about him?”

“Remember the comment you made about him being Jason of the Argonauts?”

“Yeah and he said it was a joke or something like that,” Sam replied frowning. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? “You mean…”

“You were talking to _the_ Jason of the Argonauts,” Angela replied nodding. “Before you start let me just say that I didn’t quite believe it at first either. He was caught in a maelstrom in his own time and something happened and he ended up in ours. He was lucky he was fished out by a friend of mine on his shrimp boat and the rest…”

“How long was he here?” Dean asked even though he was still trying to wrap his mind around the whole thing.

“Roughly three years. That’s why he was able to pull off the whole thing as a joke from his parents,” Angela replied.

“Okay so what does this have to do with those guys?” Sam asked getting to the point. This was more normal on her level of weird and he was surprised that she didn’t even try to correct him. A callous person would have said she lied to him but he could understand it.

“It was something he said. The leader said ‘death to the Argo’ in Ancient Greek. It was part of a song that Jason’s enemies used to sing. They were pissed about the whole glory to him and the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece thing. He knew the song and it was one of the things we shared.”

Sam felt the old feelings of protectiveness arise but damped them down. He was unaware that Dean was watching him with hidden amusement as he asked, “Okay so why do you think it involves you?”

“I don’t know except for the fact that I was the only one he told that song to. The only way he would have known and how to correctly say it in that language is the possibility of a descendant of his enemies.”

“Come on Angie. Three thousand or so years of descendants?” Dean was skeptical on this one. He didn’t doubt her but he doubted the feasibility of it.

“It is possible Dean. I mean three are some groups that manage to hang onto vital traditions and pass them down…”

“Thank you professor,” Dean replied in his annoyed voice. At that moment their food was served and he paused in their discussion. He couldn’t help but give a slight grin at his cheeseburger and the prospect of that meaty goodness. When the waitress was gone he continued, “Okay but the question is how does that tie into the coming after you? I mean I know you have enemies so…”

“I wish I knew,” Angela replied. She touched her plate and touched the fruit. She felt it and took a slight sniff of a piece and put it back down and wiped her fingers off. They wandered to the sandwich and poked and prodded it. “I can’t figure out for the life of me why.”

“Must be something important if they caused you know what,” Dean replied as he dug into his cheeseburger and attempted to talk with his mouth full.

“Dean,” Sam hissed.

“It’s okay Sam. This is just an accident.” Inwardly though Angela was considering that possibility. She had no idea why her and why the mentioning of Jason. If anything she should be working on getting Cary back as well as moving forward in her plans of getting Dean’s contract from Lilith and preparing for the possibility of going to the pit to rescue him should her first plan fail. This was more like an unnecessary distraction. She said nothing more and picked up one of the pieces of her sandwich and proceeded to tear off the crusts before taking a bite. If there was one thing she was glad to still have was her ability to see by touch and she could tell that the crusts were burnt.

****

Kyros never thought he would see the day when he be the one stealing a car. Usually it was his guardian doing that but since he was on his own, he had to work with what he had. He had been taught the tricks of survival and that included learning how to hustle at pool, darts, poker as well as credit card scams and stealing cars. Yep he had been trained in the life of a criminal but it was for his survival and that of what he had to protect.

One important aspect he learned about stealing cars was to go with the nondescript ones and to pick them from places where no one would miss them. He picked this one out of an old and crusty neighborhood. The vehicle looked like it had seen better days but it was serviceable. It ran and there was no indication that he would need to stop for coolant, oil or anything that would be indicative of a piece of crap engine.

The downside was that he had to pull out his roadmap that he had bought when making the stopover in D.C. It was one of those times that he wished that he had a second one of him. Then he would be able to read and drive at the same time. As it were, he had to do some serious fancy driving in order not to crash nor attract the attention of the cops. That was not a good thing and if the enemy had the ability to pull off the fed act, they could do a cop act too.

There was one way he could read the map but it was risky. If he happened to go by people and they noticed… He might get lucky but it still was a heavy risk. He glanced at the map in the passenger seat and his backpack. He needed to get to Sioux Falls and this was his first trip to America. Yeah he was a real immigrant. His thoughts went back to when his duty was passed on to him.

_Kyros looked at his father who was staring at him with a slightly sad expression. He had just come home with his fist high in the air since he found out he had graduated from the equivalent of America’s high school. He was no longer under compulsory education. Now he could go and do whatever. However, when he walked in and saw his father in the main sitting room with another man and it was evident that they had been in an intense conversation._

_“What’s going on?” Even as Kyros asked the question, he knew what this business was about. It was his turn to take up the duty._

_His father looked at him and said, “It is time.”_

_Kyros felt an extremely heavy weight put on his shoulders. He had been training and trying to blend in and be a normal human his whole life. He had been warned that he may be called to his duty. Now it seemed that he was being called. “The Eye?”_

_The man with father nodded, “Yes. The gods have spoken and they determined that you will be the next Keeper.”_

_Kyros sighed inwardly as he put his backpack on the nearby couch. He stood up straight and said, “I Kyros, son of Paulo, accept that which is my duty as Keeper of the Eye.”_

_“Do you fully accept responsibility for the powers bestowed upon our family?”_

_“I do.”_

_“Do you swear upon the gods of the old world that you will see the Eye of Horus to the guardian?”_

_“I do. I swear to bring the Eye to the warrior princess known as Absolution.”_

Kyros remembered that there was much more formal language to it; the list of do’s and don’ts regarding his being the Keeper. He had hoped at one point that it was a dream and that the Keepership was being passed to someone else like a distant cousin. Then he could live a normal life. However, he found out soon enough that it wasn’t a picnic for the ones that weren’t chosen.

He learned that they were in as much danger as he. The enemy bore no distinction. They were not above using family to get to the Keeper. That was why they all were trained as warriors. They were all assigned a guardian. It was a major network between them. They gave everyone the heads up and all that good stuff. That was how they were able to get him out of Greece.

Kyros had to chuckle at how ironic it was that his family since the time of the ancestor Jason of the Argonauts had been scattered to the four winds and his family had settled in their ancestral homeland. Then again sometimes the best hiding techniques were done in plain sight and in the most obvious that they were often overlooked. They did have to move a lot within the country so it was hardly a picnic. In fact he used to think of it as an adventure. He moved around a lot and got to see his homeland.

The funny thing that added to his current situation was the fact that the guardian that got him out was a member of Israel’s Mosad. It really was a testament to how wide the network was. The last he saw of that guardian was when he was going through the gate at the terminal. He made it onto the plane and now he was here.

Kryos knew that what he was carrying was important. He had heard the story nearly a hundred times about how his ancestor had been sent to the future after being lost in a maelstrom. There he met the warrior princess who wielded the blade called Absolution. They became friends and she offered to look for a means to send him home. In the end it was her friend, the Messenger, that sent him back. Hence there came the whole thing about Jason being a sailor of the seven seas and across time.

In Kyros’ opinion it was a lucky or curse to be called on that on Jason’s end. He had seen the future and then had to be sent back to a time before all that. It marked him as someone who could be trusted in the eyes of that priestess that entrusted him with the Eye. The duty passed on to his only surviving son Iloren and hence the tradition they had been living since then.

Kyros was proud of his heritage. He just felt that to have been chosen at his age… it just didn’t seem fair. Then again it wasn’t fair that he seemed to have been given a few other gifts that few people could explain. Well the family knew exactly where his other gifts came from. They said he was doubly blessed with the gift that was rare among people. _Whatever on that note_ , he thought to himself. Like that was going to help him on this right now.

In Greece, witches were considered abominations, both in ancient times and now, so Kyros wasn’t sure that having minimal talent was a good thing. He had to keep that like everything else about his family a secret. He wondered how the warrior princess was able to live as long as she did and still manage to blend in.

Kyros had been made to learn the description of the warrior princess as well as the name she would answer to. He also had a small painting that surprisingly survived three thousand years. It was a small one that he studied every day since he had been given this burden. It had come with the Eye and was used as a means to identify the warrior princess when she was finally located. He had studied that picture on the way to the States and memorized the details.

He thought she was a very pretty woman. She was dressed like a warrior in the old days. She had pauldrons with scroll work on them and she was wearing a scarf that was a dark crimson red. It was wrapped around her neck and the end had a design of knot work. Her arms were crossed and she was wearing gauntlets with the same scrollwork as the pauldrons. The look she had was one of intense concentration; all business but there was a hint of playfulness in the eyes. Kyros was surprised that whoever painted the picture was able to get details down. It occurred to him that his ancestor probably described her down to everything he remembered.

_The warrior princess stands tall and proud with a soul that lifts burdens and heals wounds._

Kyros scoffed at the memory of that description. It was the one thing that the Keepers before him recited as they passed on the Eye. It was like some protective talisman or something… at least the way he saw it when the previous Keeper passed it on to him. There was no doubt that he would be able to identify her. Hell he even knew how to identify her companions.

_The Champion has a heart of kindness molded by courage and her gentle hand. His brother stands with him in the face of what set them on their path._

Kyros turned on the off turn that would take him north towards South Dakota. Who hadn’t heard of the Tournament of Souls? His father had wanted to go but because of their situation, they couldn’t, even if old time laws dictated neutrality. They were able to watch through some friends who knew a thing or two about viewing pools or whatever the darn thing was called. He wasn’t interested at the time so he wouldn’t know who the Champion and his brother was if he passed them in the street.

Kyros glanced at the map and grew frustrated. He decided to risk it and to hell with the fact if it looked weird. There were plenty of weird people and the enemy would be expecting him to be more careful about things. He could pull this off.

Keeping his eyes on the road, he reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the few things that people mistook for one of those things kids used to freak their parents out. He put it over the map and began to recite a spell in ancient Greek. It was flawless since he had been speaking Greek since he could walk and talk and he had learned the older language out of necessity. He learned a couple other essential languages but the bulk of his talent came from his heritage.

As he recited the spell, the object in his hand glowed while it hovered over the map. AS he completed the spell, in the top left of the windshield of the car, the outlines of the map began to appear. It drew itself in the corner and was just large enough to see by but small so that it didn’t obstruct his view of the road. His mother had taught him that trick since she was the one that learned spells and the like. She didn’t have true power like a witch but she knew enough how to work spells to pull people out of a tough spot.

Now the map was on the windshield and he didn’t have to worry about his eyes leaving the road. He followed the map and was actually surprised that he managed to make his way into Nebraska without much trouble. However it was getting late. He wasn’t used to driving long hours since mostly he was the one hitchhiking without the driver looking. He began looking for a nondescript motel to crash in.

He found what he was looking for off the highway and pulled in. He paid for a room using cash only since no questions were asked it didn’t leave a record. His room was located furthest away from people. Virtually it was like what he had been taught to pick out when looking for digs for the night. It never occurred to him to pick something a little more upscale. His training prevented that. He was diligent in protecting his room putting up the usual protections up. You couldn’t have the other things out there after you.

Sitting on the bed he looked at his cell phone. He debated on what to do next. He scrolled to the number that he had yet to dial and stared at it. He looked up and at the door to think for a moment and then back at the number.


	7. Chapter 7

Angela sat on the hood of the Impala. It was one of the rare days in which she and the boys had a day off. They were overlooking the peaceful look of the mineral springs. She was smiling and laughing at the sight in the springs while drinking the beer she had been nursing the entire time.

“You are so dead.”

“You need to calm down. Let the springs relax you.”

“I’ll relax you into the next decade Sasquatch.”

Angela sat on the hood just laughing at Dean who was soaked head to toe from the mineral springs. Sam way laughing equally hard but he didn’t realize that he was close enough for Dean to pull him in until it was too late. It made another burst of laughter erupt from Angela as she rested her arms on her knees. She looked down to glance at her wrists and saw the watch Dean had given her and smiled at his thoughtfulness as she watched him wrestle with Sam in the water.

She put her hand up to feel the necklace. Her fingers brushed against the contours of the star. Sam had called her a star and compared her to the North Star. At the time it was part of his way of saying how much she meant as a person. Now, to her, it meant so much more.

“You know the last time you had a happy look was when he was blessed by the god and goddess at the tournament for becoming the Champion.”

Angela frowned and looked to see a familiar face and thought it was seriously a good time to be freaking out. She recognized the hair, the eyes and the swagger but he shouldn’t be here. He was back in his own time and that meant he was long gone.

“You know you look like you swallowed a fish.”

Angela heard the boys laughing and splashing. She glanced at them and then back at the visitor. He didn’t go away. She must be losing her mind and as if her sight being lost wasn’t bad enough. She looked at the visitor and replied, “I feel like I did. You’re supposed to be back in your own time and that means long gone for me. How is it possible Jason?”

Jason looked at his friend and smiled, “I think you may have some idea. You always seem to know or guess what is going on.”

That was what everybody said and assumed about her. Angela made a slight noise that sounded like a snort. She didn’t know everything. There were times she had to research things at times too. “You and everyone else seems to think that.”

“But you are so good with it.”

“Yep depend on me and then get pissed when I can’t deliver.” Angela looked forward to watch Sam and Dean still trying to beat each other up and wrestle in the water. That was such a happy time after her birthday when they were given leave to stay by the manager a few extra days as a thank you for fixing the place in terms of the demon. It was one of the few times that they could be at peace without the fact that they had the problem of Dean’s deal looming over them.

“You always deliver what you intend which is why I need to warn you.”

Angela turned to look at Jason. “Warn me of what? How is it that you are here?”

“A favor owed to me. Now listen to me… You need to protect it. It is coming to you. Don’t let them get it.”

Angela frowned at that. It was then that Jason started to fade. “What? Jason, what does that mean?”

“You are the guardian of it. In hands like yours it will be safe. Protect the Eye.” That was the last thing he said before he faded.

Angela looked widely around. The boys were still wrestling in the water but they weren’t noticing anything that has been going on. That was totally random and out of place and usually the kind of thing that happened in dreams when someone was in trouble. The last time that happened she had been called to retrieve something that belonged to the goddess Isis.

As always she was called to duty and she answered and delivered on it. If anything she was a good little soldier and all she got out of it was pain and misery in terms of her existence. Maybe that was why she and Dean understood each other a lot better than most people thought. Dean sought for John’s approval and she still hadn’t a clue as to how to tell him that he was proud of him no matter what even if John messed up with that crap tied in with the promise she made. She sighed wearily as she turned back to see Sam and Dean coming out of the springs smiling. Somehow the memory seemed a little bleaker now that she had a visitor and a strange one at that.

****

Bobby should have not checked the voicemail. If he had known who it was from and what it was about, he would have not checked. Well that was a lie. The content mattered greatly since if it involved the boys or his girl, then he was on top of it. He just didn’t expect damn Rufus to give a call.

Bobby had been busy with Cerebus who had discovered the neat trick of actually distracting spirits. They were doing a salt and burn nearby. Spirit was an old librarian who was killing people for not respecting the books. Bobby thought that his girl fit the bill just right since she had a nice old collection that she held on a pedestal so high that the boys used gloves when handling them.

Of course she wouldn’t do anything like death by beating them with a ruler or anything like that. He did have to admit though that she had more ingenious ways of making them suffer if it were something like that. She said Dean was easy since she gunned for the simple pleasures that he enjoyed. Sam was different and she liked the challenge of trying to outsmart a college boy. Bobby knew better though… at least he thought he did.

So as it were he and the mutt were out hunting. He decided that the mutt was going to earn his keep besides being an invisible guard dog. As it were, the mutt proved handy in detecting supernatural occurrences and he sure as hell wasn’t afraid of the fool librarian and Bobby learned something new about the hell mutt.

That was actually the first time Bobby was actually able to see the thing. He was surprised since Angela said that he was lucky not to see Cerebus like she could. What he saw was a very large, Saint Bernard sized dog that was all black and sort of looked like his old dog Rumsfeld. He thought he was going stark crazy at first but after a couple of pinches and tests with the doggy doughnuts, Bobby was certain that the mutt was real.

The first time he noticed it was when he was walking down the street when he was investigating the occurrence. The person he went to see commented that he had a nice dog and asked if he was a K-9 unit. That had Bobby frown until he took and saw the dog and he nearly started swearing. He had quizzed the mutt of course, “Okay so were ya just messing with me?”

Cerebus looked at Bobby with an inquisitive look and rumbled. He then made a low moan in his throat that sounded like one of exasperation. At the same time he bumped Bobby’s leg.

“Don’t tell me ya were holding out on us. Damn mutt.”

Of course that was a conversation that was mostly one sided and ended with Bobby feeding Cerebus a biscuit even though they were now rationed. The last time Dean was there, he gorged on them along with the sandwiches Angela made.

They took on the job and Cerebus proved his mettle in distracting the ghost and actually saving Bobby’s neck by preventing him from being knocked into the grave at some point. To the hell mutt it was a game. To Bobby it was like playing with a little kid and that was disturbing since Cerebus was supposed to be this big badass hellhound. No wonder Angela said that it was better that he or the boys couldn’t see him.

The hunt took some time and it was late when he got the voicemail from Rufus. It was full of the usual talk since they were still not on very good speaking terms. Not after that one hunt. However, Rufus made up for it when he told him that something had happened to Angela.

Bobby felt his heart constrict and it was a wonder he didn’t have a heart attack since the last time something bad happened, she was dead. Well according to her she wasn’t completely dead. He didn’t care. In his book, dead was dead. The proof was in the fact that she possessed two people and one she was partial to in terms of her feelings and was doing a damn good job of hiding it. That was being dead.

He listened to the message and tried his best not to break anything. That idjit girl. What was she thinking? Of course she saved Rufus’ ass but did she have to jump in front of a blast? Now she couldn’t see a damn thing and was probably out there alone. And why did that idjit Rufus leave her alone? She was all alone and for what reason? She was going to get it and he wasn’t going to go easy on her. No way was he falling for the look that made Dean fold like a wrinkled suit.

Cerebus seemed to have sensed Bobby’s agitation and got up from his comfortable rug on the floor and went to nose Bobby’s hand. He hadn’t reverted to his invisible state but preferred to remain visible. It was a specialty that had been bred into him when he was whelped. He never had the opportunity to use it but his alpha’s people asked him for help and he was smart enough to figure out that there was only so much that could be explained by something that was invisible.

Bobby felt the wetness of Cerebus’ nose. He growled at the feeling of wet drool. “Eww. Can you taper off on the drool ya mutt?”

Cerebus gave a low moan and shot the look that his alpha used all the time on her people. He turned it on full blast knowing that it would make him seem like a disgrace. However it was pretty effective in getting the extra doughnut from Bobby or conning Dean out of the last one he stole. Sam was good natured about it and laughed.

Bobby gave a slight snarl that was half-hearted. He knew what the mutt was up to and he appreciated it. “Alright, I’ll go easy on her. You and I both know that she does what she does best and that’s helping people. Like Rufus said, it was an accident.”

Bobby looked at the wall that had all the phones with their masking tape labels when he had to pretend to be part of various agencies for hunters. She teased him about getting a labeler so that way they didn’t have to struggle with trying to read his handwriting. He said that she better not touch his system or he would put up a worse fuss than Dean over his clothes. He sighed and flipped open the cell phone that was in his pocket and dialed the number.

Cerebus moaned and panted happily. He liked the elder human who was like a father to his alpha. He knew that the elder cared about his alpha and would do anything to help her. That she was in trouble, Cerebus could tell since the elder was rambling on about idjits and he was worried too but her boys were out there. Surely she would have called them and they would have rushed to her aid. Certainly her alpha would have.

Cerebus had liked Sam the moment he had woken up in that cold place. There was something about him that the mutt admired which would be considered odd since his kind were feared and rightly so. When they were given a scent, they had you until you were dead. Hellhounds were bred for single mindedness. He was an exception and he was supposed to be guarding Tartarus but the demons took him and tried to make him into a killer like the others. He had almost forgotten and then his alpha came along.

He had been sent to go after her; make her into something that the alpha demon wanted. She mortally wounded him and was within her right to kill him. He attacked her and she defended herself and could have left him to die. Yet she healed him. She made him remember his purpose as what Hades had wanted him to. She healed him even though he injured her severely and since then he followed her. She became his alpha. When she needed her alpha protected, he did it even though she didn’t understand it at first. He would protect her pack just as she did which was why he decided to utilize this new talent.

Bobby looked at the hell mutt as he looked at the phone. He had listened to the voicemail twice already. He did have to hand it to Rufus for telling him. He may not be on the best terms with his old friend but they did know what was important to the other and they did what was right. Plus he had a feeling that his girl wormed her way into Rufus’ affections as crusty as they were.

He referred her to Rufus after she called asking for help. At first he thought it had something to do with that foolhardy plan she wanted to do; the whole going to hell thing to save Dean. He still couldn’t believe that he agreed to help her with that but he did promise and she wasn’t going to tell until he did. He understood why she wasn’t saying a thing about it to the boys. Dean would vehemently say no and try the forbidding her from doing it even though he probably would want to say yes. Sam… he wasn’t sure about.

Bobby had known the boys a long time. He had known her for nearly a year and he had to admit that it was short amount of time for the boys to become attached to her as they did and he had to admit that he was the same way. He hadn’t failed to notice how Sam would hover near her like a guard dog and was the first to act if someone attempted to do anything but talk to her and he had noticed the jaw twitch if they flirted with her. It didn’t go any further than that but he wasn’t a blind idjit in regards to her.

To Bobby she was special and when he guessed that what she was looking for had to do with the search for a demon and to rescue him, he flew off the handle. It was easy to scold her and say that she was being an idjit over the phone and yet he could imagine how she looked as he let loose his steam and she let him do it.

It was frustrating because she didn’t fight him. He wondered if that was same with the boys. Even though she had fought with them before and he had heard a couple of arguments, she always took it. She never fought back and when she didn’t rise to the bait, it made him and probably the boys feel guilty. Now Bobby knew that was never her intention since she probably argued that she deserved it and he thought it was stupid.

Bobby sighed. She was only doing what she thought was right and that was to protect her boys; protect her family. He should have seen it earlier. She was backed into a corner and she was coming out fighting and that was with everything she had. He may have seen hints a year ago with Ellen and the cemetery but it looked like it grew on her. Dean mentioned what she did at Ellis to rescue him and Sam from those Lupei things.

Cerebus moaned again and Bobby looked at him. He was a stubborn old fool not to have called her back just to talk. She would have answered and listened. Sighing he dialed the number that he knew well and hoped that she would pick up.

****

The buzz was actually quite loud for early in the morning. It made an interesting sound on the nightstand and it was somewhat a relief that it wasn’t actually ringing. Angela reached over and grabbed the buzzing phone. She couldn’t see the caller ID so the best bet was to answer the darn thing. She groaned out, “Hello?”

_Angie? Ya all right?_

Angela frowned as she sat up in bed. She thought Bobby wasn’t on speaking terms with her. She could hardly blame him since she was planning to do things in the realm of stupid. The worried tone though had her thinking worst case scenarios regarding the grizzled hunter. “Something wrong Bobby?”

_Don’t be trying to change the subject young lady. I’m calling about you. Rufus called and said you had an accident._

Angela wished she could roll her eyes but she couldn’t. They were sore even though she had been asleep. She was an idiot for forgetting the drops. Part of it was an embarrassment and part of it was that her mind was on the fact that her accident was no accident. She couldn’t rub her eyes so she just had to muddle through it.

Rufus had to go and say something and as much as she wanted to be annoyed and upset, she found that she couldn’t. Rufus and Bobby may not be on speaking terms but it seemed that her accident was a small step to getting them to at least talk to each other even if it was a voicemail. She replied, “Yeah something like that.”

_He said that you were blind._

“Yeah that’s true. It was an accident though.” She held up her hand in a placating manner even though Bobby couldn’t see her.

_Don’t you be hiding anything from me. That may work with the boys but you brought me into what yer planning to do so that means you tell me everything._

Angela couldn’t help but smile. She replied, “We just got finished with a job and had a few ‘Irish’ coffees. We were going our separate ways when I got that feeling.” She made a slight toss of her head as she got out of bed and started walking around to go about her morning routine.

_What feeling?_

“Uh… that feeling I usually get when something doesn’t seem right. I turned and saw them aim for Rufus…”

_And you did what you usually did. Rufus said there was an explosion._

“Multiple shots Bobby,” Angela replied as she pulled a set of clothes out of her bag. “One of them hit the gas tank of a car, probably Rufus’ and I was… next to it.”

_So it was aiming at you then?_

“At first I didn’t think so but I couldn’t shake the feeling even when they were checking me out. It’s flash blindness by the way. It should clear up on its own. How fast, I can’t say since I’ve never had an eye injury before…”

_About that feeling… has it gone away?_

“No,” Angela replied as she put her stuff down on the bathroom counter. “Still hasn’t gone away. Not since last night.”

_They try to attack ya again?_

Angela paused a moment. She had to word this just right so Bobby didn’t freak out on her. Then again he was going to do that anyway since Rufus gave him the bare bones and now he wanted details. She had to chortle at the possible picture she was making. If only things were normal and she meant human normal. “Well after Rufus brought me here, I called Sam. The boys came…”

_At least ya called them idjits._

Angela gave a slight hum. She looked in the direction of the door to her room. “Bobby a group tried to attack me and Sam saved me. It was like they knew me but I didn’t know them. I have no clue who they are.”

_Alright just calm down. Is there anything you can tell me about them?_

“Uh they tried playing the part of the drunken group. We were near a bar so that was obvious,” Angela replied. “Nothing unusual about them.”

_Angie, tell the truth. You know something and yer not sure of what to make of it are ya?_

Angela rubbed her forehead. She couldn’t rub her eyes but she could rub her head. It would help with the slight headache she was getting. Part of it was because her eyes felt sore and the other part was that her head still hurt. She did get a bump on the head from the explosion. At least it wasn’t a concussion. She didn’t need that.

She also wasn’t sure about what to tell Bobby. Would he even think she wasn’t crazy about her supposition? She put her hand to her forehead as if that would relieve the pressure. “The leader said something to me Bobby.”

_Well what did he say?_

“Uh… he said…”

_Angie?_

“He said something in Ancient Greek to me. He made a reference to an old song.” Angela paused to look around. She felt like someone was watching her even though there was no one in the room. It was that same creepy feeling and she couldn’t help but think about what she dreamed about, which probably accounted for the headache that was coming on.

_Well what song was it? And ya said it was Ancient Greek?_

Angela couldn’t answer. At the moment her head was pounding and she pressed her forehead against the wall. God that fucking hurt and it felt a lot worse. She recognized what the pain was from and she was confused about it. This was the second vision that hurt like a bitch and it felt stronger than before.

_She was seeing what looked like the inside of a temple. It was lit by the ceremonial torches that accompanied such a place. There were symbols and sigils all over and the coloring was very familiar. It actually had a blend of two cultures. Standing at the head of the altar was a woman and she was hooded. Her features were hard to make out but Angela could feel the bad vibes coming from her. She was one badass mother._

_The woman was facing a crowd of priests and guy dressed in suits. It was like a weird mixture of church and feds in the place. They were all looking at the ground at something lying there. Angela looked down and saw two bodies there. Her eyes widened in fear as the woman held something in her hand. She was chanting something._

_Angela looked down and saw that the bodies were in the middle of a sigil. She recognized the sigil. She looked up and saw the woman. She was holding the object in her hand and she was saying, “After three thousand years, the Eye is now ours and we have a gift for you.”_

_The sigil glowed illuminated the bodies. Angela reached out with her hand. She happened to look up and see a dark haired boy that looked like a younger version of Jason…_

Angela blinked but she couldn’t see a damn thing so it was hard to tell if she was out of the vision. The pain was still there but it was receding. She knew why Sam felt like hell when he had a vision and she didn’t get it. Beings that were born with demon blood per se like her shouldn’t have the headaches. Even beings of the supposed bloodlines from before ancient times shouldn’t get headaches. This was something that bothered her greatly.

_Angie? Balls answer me girl!_

Angela jerked out of her thoughts to answer the phone, “Sorry Bobby. I… I just had a vision and it hurt like a mother.”

_What about Angie? Talk to me._

The voice was unusually calm and it was soothing to Angela. She replied, “Bobby… What do you know about the Eye of Horus?”


	8. Chapter 8

It was late in the morning to be getting a start but Kyros had to get going. He needed to press forward and get to Sioux Falls. He just got into his car when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and recognized who it was off the bat. He answered it, “This is Hades.”

_Plans have changed._

Kyros turned on the engine and started the car moving forward after muttering the phrase to make the map appear. He recognized the voice so he could trust it but there was protocol that had to be followed. He replied, “Tartarus is rebelling?”

It was crazy babble to the outside but it was a protocol that was established in the time of Jason. Of course they believed in the Greek gods then. It made sense to use them. People of today would think it to be crazy psychobabble or just poking fun at stories people told a long time ago. For him and his family, it was their life on the line.

_Tartarus has rebelled. The guard dog is missing._

Kyros frowned a bit. He knew his guardian was missing. The thing was he never reported that in and since the enemy caught Amunet, she wouldn’t have been able to call them. Something was up. He had to figure it out though. He replied, “Cerebus is around. On schedule and heading to Elysian fields.”

_Change plans. Head to the world of the living._

Kyros frowned slightly. That was not part of the protocol. Something must be up if they were going to break protocol. Standard procedure was that you kept going but you just had to be more careful. That meant the enemy was on your tail and you just had to evade them and eventually they would give up of the guardians would take care of them. That was the way of things. “The goal is Elysian Fields,” he replied.

_Head to the world of the living. The warrior princess is being watched._

Kyros frowned. Normally he would follow orders. He had been doing it all his life since his father made him understand the life they led. His mother did the whole schooling on the spells and protection and good ole dad did the physical training along with Mansour, their guardian. Well Kyros had always called him Uncle Mansour but that didn’t change the life he had growing up.

Paulo may not have been dad of the year but one thing was certain. He loved his family. He would do anything to protect them which was why he taught his son how to fight and defend himself. He had Mansour teach him what the guardians did. So he essentially didn’t always have to run away or hide behind the guardians.

Paulo was one of the few to realize that the old ways were not going to cut it anymore. Kyros remembered the late night conversations his parents had. His father said that the old ways were compromised and that the other side knew their ways. New ways had to be taken and adapted if they were going to survive. That was when the trainings began.

Kyros liked the weapons training and learning how to fight. Of course he had to keep his ability to a minimum. School didn’t allow fighting. So he kept the fights until after school and always made it so that he could win some and lose some and be normal. Now his gut was telling him that they were compromised. The old ways weren’t going to work. He asked, “Proof of life?”

_Watched and dying._

Kyros wasn’t going to believe that she was dead. After all the stories that he had heard of her and the Champion and Slayer… he was having a hard time believing that she was _that_ compromised. He was going to stick with the plan. “Not possible. Still on mission.”

_Change in orders. Follow them._

Kyros made a face. “Fuck this,” he muttered. He hung up and put some speed in the rattletrap that he was driving. He was going to wing it. He was on his own on this and he didn’t have a guardian to back him up. Oh yeah he was going on the fly with this one and he wasn’t even sure if he could pull it off. He scrolled through the numbers in his directory and paused on a number. He dialed it.

_Hello._

Kyros gave a slight scoff that turned into a laugh, “Hey Mom. Uh, it’s me.”

_Kyros, what are you doing calling this number? Are you hurt? Is the Eye safe?_

Kyros gave a slight eye roll. He knew that asking about the Eye would be first thing after inquiring about him. Dad was different. He would have asked about the Eye first and then him. At least he got both sides if he wanted to say a joke. He replied, “I’m fine Mom. The Eye is safe.”

_Then why are you calling? Are you in trouble?_

Kyros glanced out the rearview mirror. He was lucky he wasn’t being tailed. As far as he could tell, they would be trying to drag out the location from Amunet. She would give them a run for their money. She was Uncle Mansour’s niece after all and if she was like her uncle, then death would probably make her spill or not.

Keeping his eyes on the road and occasionally glancing at his windshield map, he replied, “Well… I made it to the States in one piece and met Uncle Mansour’s niece. Then the shit hit the fan Mom. They were waiting for us at the airport.”

_So it is as your father said. They have gotten smarter._

“Dad was right. The old ways are compromised. I got a call from them and they told me to come in. I don’t like this Mom. I read the protocol back and forward and even played with ciphers…”

_Don’t follow protocol, Son._

Kyros gave a slight frown. “Dad?”

_The protocol has been compromised. I have my suspicions but I believe we have had traitors amongst us._

Kyros listened to his father. It sounded so farfetched but he knew better than to not take his father’s advice. He followed his father’s orders because he knew that it was for his own safety. He knew that he had relatives far removed that had less than stellar lives. They followed orders probably but he knew that his dad asked him for his opinion especially if he felt there was something different. It was part of the saying that the old ways were not working anymore.

_Don’t scare the boy Paulo._

_He has to know Diane. Mansour got confirmation from Ibrahim in Israel that they attacked the safe house in Haifa. Mossad thinks it’s a terrorist attack or they think terrorists were harbored there…_

_Paulo!_

Kyros knew that his parents always argued over what and how much to tell him. He didn’t blame them really since sometimes he wasn’t even sure he wanted to know. Now that the Eye was in his two hands literally, he wasn’t going to be squeamish. He would need to know what was going on and his dad knew all the cards. At least the ones that he found. “So, there are traitors within the ranks?”

_It seems that way. What have they told you?_

“They wanted me to go to the world of the living,” Kyros replied as he checked to make sure that he was still on the right highway. “They said that she was being watched.”

The pause on the other end was disconcerting for Kyros. He knew his dad was thinking about it. There was something going on and his dad had some idea. “Dad, you thinking of something?” He adjusted his speed when he saw the cop car up ahead. Better to stick to speed limits than be pulled over for speeding.

_Son, there have been reports of accidents. Some are reported as accidents and some as terrorist attacks._

“Are they hunting us?”

_Some instances it had been. Son, the reports have one thing in common._

Kyros made an adjustment. The cop car was long gone but he kept an eye out. He didn’t want to be stopped by a corn fed hick from Nebraska. He was curious though by what his father had to say. It may prove useful. “What is that?”

_Paulo~_

_Diane… He has to know that they have targeted the warrior princess._

“I figured that. They have Amunet,” Kyros replied. “I know she won’t tell where we were going.” Actually he really didn’t know but he knew Uncle Mansour. Mansour really believed in his duty in protecting the Keepers and the rest of the family. He truly believed in the stories that Jason traveled through time to meet the warrior princess and that created a link between them and the fate of the world regarding the Eye. “Can you let Uncle Mansour know?”

_We will Kyros. Are you all right?_

“I’m on my way to Elysian Fields,” Kyros replied. It was automatic to speak in the code that the family knew. It was code referring to wherever the warrior princess would be found. It did occur to him that if the old ways were compromised, then there was the possibility that the enemy did know where to go but if they did, then they wouldn’t have taken Amunet. There was possibility that they didn’t know who or where especially if… “Dad, the thing the incidents have in common, was there one woman that was similar in appearance to the warrior princess?”

_There was Son. Mostly the physical description of being tall and dark haired and very good at physical fighting._

“That is stretching things a bit thing,” Kyros commented as the wheels in his mind started moving forward. “But that tells us something Dad.”

_They don’t know what she looks like and they don’t know about Elysian Fields._

Kyros grinned. He could almost see his dad smiling with him. Dad always was proud when he figured things out when it came to solving the puzzles. It was his part in keeping the family location a secret. He would hear the reports from Dad and then come up with what they could do to divert attention away from the village town they were living in. “My thoughts Dad. I guess some of those old ways worked out.”

_They did Son but you still need to be careful. I know Amunet is bound not to say anything by the oath but if we are compromised, there are ways around it. I think that’s how they are able to counter most of our strategies._

“I will Dad. I’m still heading there but thanks to an old friend, I know what I am looking for. I’ll find the warrior princess.”

_I’m proud of you Son. Your mother and I are both proud._

“Thanks Dad. Um I’ll call once I find her. Maybe I’ll be able to get an autograph from the Champion and the Slayer.”

_Very funny Son. You just make me proud and learn something from them._

Kyros chuckled and said his good byes. He put some gas into the engine and sped along. With any luck he would be in South Dakota that night. He would find the warrior princess and her friends and maybe the duty that had been bound to his family and to Amunet’s family will finally be off their shoulders. Let someone else take the burden and who was better able to hide it.

****

Amunet peeked around the corner. She could hear the shouts coming from elsewhere around the building. Her escape was now well known but she still was free. She just needed to get to Sioux Falls and make sure that the Keeper was okay. She needed to get going since it seemed that the enemy had an idea of where he was.

After whatever round she endured of being knocked around by fists and slaps and then there was the occasional shock treatment, she made her move. That was after she overheard an interesting piece of conversation. She had pretended to be knocked out in order to listen. Uncle Mansour had taught her to play dead since it was a pretty effective means of getting information. People assumed you didn’t hear things. Plus she had been trained to sleep light.

The douche who had been interrogating her was reporting on his progress. That was a conversation Amunet liked hearing since it was pretty much in the toilet. Every time he tried asking where she and the Keeper were heading, she would bullshit him. It was one of her flaws as Uncle Mansour said that was her asset. _He was certainly right about that_ , she thought as she rubbed her lip and wiped away the crusty blood.

Well they were stupid to hold the conversation in the same room where she was working her way of picking the ropes free. Suit guy had opened the door and one of his wooden spoon goons came in. He said, “We have a problem.”

Suit guy looked at her but she was playing the perfect possum. He started singing like a canary, “What is it?”

“We haven’t been able to find the Keeper.”

“That’s to be expected you idiot. They are trained in one thing and that is to run away and hide. They are trained to be ghosts… better than the damned CIA.” Suit guy turned in frustration to look at their captive. “The guardians are the ones trained to fight and withstand interrogation. That is except for a few who knew what was good for them.”

_We have traitors!_

Amunet hadn’t wanted to believe it when Uncle Mansour first told her before she received her assignment. She had a firm belief in the integrity of the guardians that came from a long line of tradition dating almost three thousand years and possibly longer. True that it wasn’t exactly pure since it was three thousand years and the guardians were not only Egyptian but Grecian until Aten’s lead and then others were added in. It was a hard thing to hear and from the enemy.

Looking at it now, it made sense to Amunet. Uncle Mansour had been teaching her things before sending her off to the States. He taught her what the Keepers were trained in and she thought it was unusual to be taught that. Now it made sense. She needed to slip her captors and get to the Keeper… get to Kyros.

She had to admit that she was surprised that he was named the next one. They had gone to school together until she was sent away to train. Until then they had done everything together but when they were old enough, they had to be separated. They had their own separate training to endure because of their roles within the protection of the Eye. They never saw each other again and she never asked after him when Uncle Mansour started in on the special training; not even when she was sent to the States.

Anyway after the whole discussion about not finding Kyros, Amunet knew they wouldn’t be able to find him since he would be that good, she heard another interesting aspect. Suit guy was waiting and his spoon goon said, “We have a report from Massachusetts. TJ found her.”

Suit guy replied, “Has it been confirmed?”

“Fighting ability better than the others. She survived the blast.”

“That is not much to boast about especially if there was no sign of abilities,” Suit Guy replied. “What did she have to say about it?”

“You know Memnet. She knows everything.”

“What did she say?”

“Well she seemed excited that one of the companions was named Sam. Like that means anything but she was excited. You know she won’t tell us until we need to know and I’m guessing she has her own sources for confirmation.”

Amunet didn’t hear any more after that. She had to take her chance and warn Kyros or the warrior princess first. That was one secret that was never revealed until your number was up to take on your duty. It was a measure that Iloren and Aten came up with and it held well. Those that weren’t chosen wouldn’t know but how the enemy had a clue, it was disconcerting.

Amunet knew all about the Champion. Uncle Mansour had managed to procure her a spot in the tournament to get some real life experience. It was a risk but the enemy never knew who was a guardian until a Keeper surfaced. She took the risk and her advantage was that she had a special fighting outfit for that.

It certainly was an honor when she was called to go against him. Well she didn’t know he was the Champion until after he won his last match. Still she was surprised by him. He was tall that was certain but his demeanor was that of a gentleman and yet he had the markings of the warrior, the oldest kind that she had only heard of in stories.

Amunet thought he was surprised to find his opponent was only her, a seventeen year old that had been fighting in techniques that were pretty old. He didn’t hold back though since she didn’t and it was actually fun. She lost because he was better and was able to get under her guard with a maneuver she hadn’t seen before.

She watched as he suffered through an injury to win his battle against the lycanthrope shifter and his interaction with his master. Amunet knew then that was the warrior princess. She had heard of descriptions of her from Uncle Mansour and he gave her the secret to identifying her even though her number wasn’t up. Apparently it wasn’t too much a secret or rather he said that only a trusted few were ever permitted to know and that was kept from the others.

It was a lot but Amunet knew she could identify her even if she wasn’t wearing her gauntlets like she had seen her wear at the tournament. She also knew that the warrior princess traveled with the Champion and his brother the Slayer of the Demon. To hear that someone told and that their lives were possibly in danger… it spurred her into action.

She had gotten herself free from the ropes and waited till Suit Guy came back for the next round. As far as she could tell, the Eye hadn’t been delivered. If the warrior princess was being watched, then it could spell trouble for all. She had to find them or Kyros and do her job. So when the interrogator came in, she took a chance and attacked. She used her fighting techniques and took him out and escaped her cell. The trick now was to get out of the compound and towards freedom. That was going to be a challenge now that alarms were blaring.

She did manage to steal one of their cars and head down the highway. It was even more of a surprise to find that she was somewhere in Nebraska. She just only needed to ditch the car and head to South Dakota. She knew that was where Kyros would be headed. She just needed to stay out of sight of the enemy.

She was able to ditch the car and managed to hotwire a classic car that was in bad need of restoration. She liked them because they were easy to steal. That was something she had to do when she was in the States her first few weeks. That was until she found a job and was able to receive regular allowances from the account Uncle Mansour set up for her. She then got that economical car thing that was a plastic toy. So it felt good to be in something familiar.

One thing she had to hand to Uncle Mansour was that he was meticulous in setting up means of survival at various locations throughout the States. It helped since she had a few relatives scattered about. She could go to them but she had the feeling that it wasn’t a good idea. So she headed to probably the smallest town in the Midwest that had a branch of one of the banks that had safe deposit boxes.

Amunet was sure that the manager thought something was up since she did have a slight cut on her lip and eyebrow and not to mention the rumpled dirty look of her clothes. She was certain that the fib she sold to him didn’t fly too well. Yet he let her in and she did have the right password. She was able to get some cash, credit cards and a brand new cell phone that was clean, meaning that no bugs and no clones.

She left the bank with her supplies and took off before the manager got it into his head to call security or local law enforcement. That would just ruin her day. She got back into her stolen car and took off back onto the interstate. She directed the car towards north since that was the general direction of South Dakota. She would need to pick up a road map at the next pit stop roadside gas station.

Fishing out her new cell phone, she dialed the first number. She muttered to herself that she hoped someone would pick it up. She heard the telltale click of someone picking it up. It was a long distance call but there was only one person she trusted aside from Kyros even though she hadn’t seen him in years. “Uncle Mansour?”

_Amunet? What has happened?_

Amunet had to hand it to her uncle. He was always straight to business. She once teased him about being a twentieth century version of Aten. He took it very well since he actually agreed with her on that. She replied, “We were separated.”

_They were there?_

“Kyros knew they were there. I saw them too. We did the usual but we were rammed. I told him to get away,” Amunet confirmed. Her report was short and succinct without detail. It was out of habit and out of the paranoia that maybe someone else may be listening even though the line was clean.

_Good work and you?_

“It is the dark forces. They tried the usual. I gave them a lot of lip,” Amunet replied not able to keep the pride out of her voice.

_So they don’t know where the Keeper is?_

“No and they won’t be finding him anytime soon,” Amunet replied. One thing she remembered from when they were kids was that Kyros was really good at hiding. Hide and go seek was one of their favorite games and no one could find him. He was a natural at it. She knew he would keep out of sight until he was sure of who was friend and foe. Uncle Mansour had to know though, “Uncle, they know who the warrior princess is. They even know about the Champion.”

_Are you certain?_

“They mentioned Memnet and that she had sources. It’s as you warned me of.” Amunet made a turn to make sure that no one was following her. The highway was empty but she could afford to be paranoid. The silence had her worried though.

_Then you have to go to them._

Amunet wasn’t sure she heard right. Her duty was to the Keeper. “What? Uncle, I’m on my way to meet up with Kyros. He’s probably already there.”

_He’ll be fine. You need to warn them. Head east._

Amunet was puzzled. This was not the usual. “But how do you know that they are in the east?”

_We have our ways. Remember. Find them and warn them._


	9. Chapter 9

The coffee wasn’t half bad for the middle of the day and it certainly could keep a person awake for the trip back to Sioux Falls. It wasn’t even a debate but executive decision on Dean’s part and Sam was surprised at how accepting Angela was of that. Then again he knew that she was humoring Dean but also aware that things needed to be talked over especially that she was adamant that something or someone was after her.

Sam had woken up after another nightmare. It was disturbing that he was still having them now that they were back together and she was okay. This time though it was in some strange building. He still dreamt of the suits and robes and she was kicking ass but she was talking in some strange language. This time though she wasn’t the one getting skewered. It was first Dean and then it ended when the blade was above him.

Going with the best thing he had for his kind of nightmares, he decided to go for a walk since Dean wasn’t awake yet. At least he didn’t fall on his ass when he saw Angela standing there at the door like he did in Onigen. Of course she teased him about that before asking him for some help. It was a first in that she directly asked for help since she was more like Dean and would hint at things and make snarky comments.

As it turned out, she needed help with the dilating drops she had been given. As she put it, she couldn’t see a damn thing and more likely would poke her eye out. Sam knew better though. It took a lot for her to swallow pride and ask for help just as it took him a lot to not be on her case when he asked her why she looked like she was squinting so much and she said that she hadn’t put any in the night before.

She had said, “I was tired and I wasn’t ready to ask for help.”

Sam had replied, “Okay so let’s get them in now.”

It certainly was getting a real life version of his nightmares when he took off the eye pads and noticed the healing burns. At least they weren’t scarred like he had seen. It was not too bad working in near darkness since it wouldn’t do to let the light in and possibly damage her sight permanently. He had read up on flash blindness and the possibility was a scary and probably more for her since she was the one that had to deal with it. At least as far as he could see when he put the drops in, her eyes were the same color they always were even though they couldn’t see anything.

Of course his silence spoke volumes to her and she asked him to spill. So he told her his nightmares and she listened. She then told him that she had a vision like the ones he used to get, headaches and all. It was creepy and disturbing that they were so similar except they were seeing it through their own eyes. It was then she said, “I think I know why they are after me.”

That led to a morning discussion with Dean about it. Neither of them had heard of the Eye of Horus but he and Angela were familiar enough with Egyptian mythology to know that the symbol of the eye of Horus represented healing and a numbers based on the shapes of how the eye was drawn. As to an actual object, that was something not heard of and it made it more urgent that they get over to Bobby’s especially since she admitted that Bobby was looking into it after he called her that morning.

Right now they were making a pit stop. They were still in New England since they got a late start and Dean was pestering her to make sure she was okay. She kept saying that she was blind and not with broken ribs or anything like that and she could stand his long hours. At least the car needed gas so that wasn’t something to get up in arms about.

Sam was sitting in the front seat as Dean pulled up. He said that he was getting road food too and disappeared to pay. Sam glanced in the back to find Angela looking like she was snoozing since she had her glasses on but she had her headphones on and it was connected to her computer pad. “Are you researching something?”

Angela had been listening to the news on her computer pad. It had taken some trial and error in between telling Dean that he could step on it in his usual fashion. She had been looking for any sign of something similar to what happened to her. Something about the timing of when that douche said that piece of the song was bugging her. It was like they weren’t sure of something. She found a few interesting reports that were cross country and was in the middle of listening to one when Sam asked his question. She replied, “Something like that.”

“Are you looking for a hunt?”

“No, just something about our little fun the night before that had me thinking,” Angela replied as she felt for the stop button. She put it down and reached for the cane. She needed to stretch her limbs and maybe a short walk would help and she would get some practice in. She was still optimistic about regaining her sight even though she knew that there was the risk that it was permanent. Hell she wouldn’t be surprised if Sam read up about it. That was him and another thing she loved him for.

“What about?” Sam got out the same time since he needed a stretch too. He opened her door and waited for her to get out. Maybe it was overboard but it wasn’t like he was insisting that he help her out and he did that anyway on occasion.

Angela heard the door open and then hers but said nothing. It was nothing to get excited about and she was in unfamiliar territory but she needed to be able to fend for herself. She taught Augie that and she was doing fine even within the order. Even though most cases were that eyesight was completely restored, she was being prepared for that possibility that she might never get her sight back. It was a daunting possibility and in all honest truth, it scared her.

She got out of the car with little trouble and stretched slightly. She looked in Sam’s direction and replied, “That maybe those guys didn’t know what I really looked like.”

Sam frowned at that. Even that sounded a bit out of the ordinary as he watched as Angela leaned on the open door, resting her head on her arms. “You mean that they attacked and weren’t even sure if you were you?”

“That’s what it seems like,” Angela replied as she moved. Her hand moved along the edge and she moved to shut the door. She started walking around the car towards the hood end, passing Sam without even running into him. It was an improvement. She sat on the hood and stared out at nothing.

Sam frowned and followed. She suspected something but she wasn’t sure. He reached in and pulled out her computer pad and started scrolling. He discovered that she had managed to search for other kinds of accidents like hers. Some of the pictures that accompanied the articles showed women who had similar features like Angela’s. She may be on to something there. He walked over to where she was sitting and said, “So you’re thinking these other incidents are related. I can see that you made the connection with the similar physical descriptions.”

“Plus the leader said ‘death to the Argo,’” Angela replied as she motioned her head towards Sam’s direction. Using her scent of smell she could tell that he was to her right. Plus the added weight to the car helped.

“Death to the Argo?”

“It’s part of a song that Jason’s enemies used to sing. They didn’t like the fact that he became very popular for finding the Golden Fleece and all that hoopla. He taught me the song when we first met and that was after he got it into his head that I wasn’t going to kill him,” Angela replied with a slight chuckle. “As if I wanted to eat his sorry ass.” She paused a moment to composed herself. “Anyway few people know the song especially in the ancient Greek that he taught to me.”

“And this was helpful in making sure it was you?”

“The fact that I reacted was probably enough,” Angela replied. “I understood what he was saying and what it meant. Though why now and this time… I am still at a loss.”

“Still at a loss for what?”

Angela turned to look at Dean who had finished putting the pump in to fill up the tank. She replied, “As to why I was targeted but I do know that they were looking for me.”

Sam handed over the computer pad, “Dean it seems that there were attacks made all over the place and they have victims that have one thing in common.”

Dean took the computer pad. He scanned the articles and the images. He was startled by how many people had a similar physical description of Angela. Yeah Elena was her exact double but it was disturbing to find that there were women who had dark hair and were as tall as she was. “So they have similar looks to Angie.”

“Dean, these guys didn’t know what she looked like until one of them said something,” Sam countered. At Dean’s shrug, Sam tried not to get annoyed. He could tell that Dean was connecting the dots but he was going to need something more to convince him to do anything. “They said the words of a song in a language that Angie would only be able to understand.”

“Fine. So what do you want me to do about it?”

“Dean…”

“What Sam is getting at and what I think might be a possibility is that this group only knows me by description and that it by those stories I always poke fun at. It is connected to this Eye of Horus thing and I am betting that there may be clues left behind,” Angela interrupted. She knew Dean was going to fight on this one. It wasn’t that he didn’t think her capable. It was just a matter of keeping her out of trouble.

“So what are you saying?”

Sam took over, “That we should check it out. Let’s face it Dean, we’re gonna need more detail on these guys if we’re going to come up with a plan.”

“No way, dude.”

“Dean, someone is after her. We should check it out. The closest one is roughly three hours’ drive for you at your best. They might give some clue as to who they are and what they want. No offense Angie, but without the info we’re flying blind here even if Bobby finds out something.” Sam looked at his brother with pleading eyes.

Angela just sat there listening. She wanted to find out more and while she was virtually useless on physical vision, she could help on other things. She wasn’t completely useless and she knew that Sam could see that and Dean could but he just needed more convincing. She sort of had Sam with the ass kicking she dealt with her cane.

“Sam…”

“Dean. We can’t ignore this; hide up in some hole somewhere. Whatever this is has to be dealt with…” Sam trailed off and looked at Dean. It was a low blow to use the puppy eyes but if this was going to get one less thing off her back and essentially their backs, then he was for it even if it was putting working on Dean’s deal on the back burner. She was family too.

Dean knew that Sam was working his way up to puppy eyes but they weren’t even in the formation yet. He glanced at Angela who looked like she was sitting on the edge of Impala and waiting for the other shoe to drop. As much as he wanted to find out about these bastards that did this to her, he didn’t want to get stuck in a position where she couldn’t defend herself. He knew she was a proud piece and to ask for help was a major thing for her. The stuff she had him and Sam do was more along the lines of entertainment. This was serious.

“Dean, I know asking for help is not really my thing even when I’m in the worst possible place but I am asking for help on this. I know Bobby is turning the dials for something on the Eye of Horus but to be honest I feel stupid sitting around and twiddling my thumbs. Now if me finding those connections that you’re looking at on my computer aren’t good enough for you then… what do I gotta do?” Angela turned to look in Dean’s direction. If she didn’t have her glasses on to keep the light out, she would have been using the puppy eyes. Instead she just sat there and seemed to stare at Dean even though all she saw was darkness.

Sam watched his brother study Angela. Dean meant well and he could understand that. They already lost her once to death and once because of misunderstandings. It was natural for them to get protective of her and she was patient with them. He was tempted to say something but he got the feeling that he should stay quiet on this one.

It paid off when Dean looked towards the pump. The click had already sounded to indicate the tank was full. He looked back, “Alright. I know I’m going to regret this but you made a point Angie.” He glanced at Sam with a look to shut up. “I guess we can check this out since you did manage to find out about this though I am not sure how…” He held the pad up still trying to figure it out.

Angela smiled. She leaned over and gave Dean a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks.”

“Hey I always like getting kissed by a pretty girl,” Dean replied with a smirk.

“Don’t cheapen it my bulldog,” Angela replied and gave a slight push with her forefinger on his shoulder. “At least the silly watch dog takes this seriously.”

Sam made a face at being called a watch dog. “Hey.”

****

“You know you need to do a better job at drawing a devil’s trap. You missed a critical element.”

Angela turned towards the familiar voice. She felt vulnerable in that she wasn’t able to see the owner but she could still be herself. She replied, “That kind of thing tends to happen when you can’t see.”

Ruby swore that she was walking away from this as far as Angela was concerned. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder how she was doing. Even though they were enemies and nothing would change that, she didn’t like it if someone got to her and kicked her ass before she did. That they would fight again was a no brainer since they had an old score to settle and if Angela figured out what she wanted to do with Sam, then the war would be on.

Deciding to see if Angela changed her mind, she decided to pay her a visit. She couldn’t find Angela per se since she had a means of being masked from the demons’ presence. So she went with the next best thing and that was track down Sam and Dean. She found them but no Angela and figured that they had separated. She guessed that Angela’s foolhardy plan was going into effect.

Now that she was in front of her, Ruby noticed that there were a few things different about Angela. She noticed the dark glasses even though they were in a darkened room and it was near twilight. She replied, “That would be a problem.”

Angela chuckled wryly as she adjusted her jacket. Underneath she had her knife within easy reach and she could use her fists since she put the cane down. “It most definitely would be.”

“First you get yourself killed and now this. What the hell happened?”

Angela could just imagine the look that Ruby was shooting her way. She continued to smile that humorless smile she had plastered on since she picked up the presence of Ruby. Well she didn’t know it was Ruby. Right now she could tell if it was demon or human. That was it. It was the voice that told her who it was. “An accident. Wrong place, wrong time.”

Ruby scoffed. “Since when is that ever normal for you?”

Angela gave a shrug of her shoulders. “It is pretty normal and I’ve had a few of those during my life. It was the damn best time of my life back then.” She walked over to where there was a bottle of beer on the table and popped it open with the same ease she would have if she could see. “Now I snatch them when I can.”

“Right. Normal is you chugging a beer with dumbass Dean and cracking jokes about sex,” Ruby retorted, “It’s no wonder that you wouldn’t have worked against the demons in Monument.”

Angela paused a bit before taking a sip of her beer. It was probably not a good idea since she had been taking headache pills. She didn’t have a headache but with the vision and then the adjustment made with the timing for her drops; that would certainly cause a need for them. Then again whatever the boys didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them especially something nonessential like that.

Ruby’s jibe at her not working in terms of the spell she wanted to use… that was a low blow. There were things that hell bitch didn’t know and she would have been surprised to have known. She looked at Ruby and replied, “I’ve learned from experience that you take what comes your way in this job. I would think that was one of the things you would remember about being human.”

“Don’t turn this back on me. You’re the one that ended up getting yourself killed…”

“An accident which I had no idea I committed,” Angela pointed out.

“And now this shit. I’m betting you can’t see a damn thing.”

Angela couldn’t help it. She turned towards Ruby and let out her best form of sarcasm, “Gee good eye. I always knew that you were an exceptional hell bitch.” She took another sip of her beer and started walking towards her bed where she had her gun. Out of habit she kept a clip of the specialty bullets with her along with the usual ammo of wrought iron and silver. “What are you doing here Ruby? I highly doubt you are here out of concern.”

Ruby narrowed her eyes. No doubt Angela had a means of killing her. The thing was she couldn’t see Absolution anywhere. She wasn’t going to let her guard down though since she had seen Angela fight before. With one of her senses compromised, the others would strengthen and probably the defense mechanisms that would probably rise. She didn’t like that dig at her remembering being human and that crap. “You’re right I don’t give a shit.”

“Then why don’t you leave? If it is a campaign to get me to stop what I’m doing, save your breath.”

“Like that is going to be possible since you are as blind as a bat,” Ruby retorted while trying not to shout. “Fighting Lilith blind is a sure way to get yourself killed.”

“I’ve fought blind before, Ruby,” Angela replied in a lowered voice.

“This is way different from some blindfold test, stupid,” Ruby countered. She had to have bet on the most stubborn of horses in this race. It was like talking to a wall at times.

“Actually it isn’t that much different,” Angela replied taking another sip of her beer. She walked over to where Ruby was so at least she was in front of the demon. “A sense is compromised and the others compensate. It’s not that much different.”

“Yeah right. The big difference is that it could be permanent.” Ruby looked at Angela. It was a bit disconcerting that Angela was taller than her but not by much. It was rather uncomfortable that she was looking at her but she couldn’t see her. Ruby had met her fair share of blind people but to see it from someone who normally could see and one who was used to staring at her in the eye… it was disturbing. At least she could lay down the line like she usually did.

“I know that Ruby. I just can’t let this stop me now.” Angela gave an apologetic shrug of her shoulders as she took another sip of her beer.

“Don’t be an idiot. Even you know that there are limits to what the Malachi of Absolution can do unless she is willing to take that last step,” Ruby replied. She had walked away for a moment but then turned around. Maybe she could salvage this.

“And you know that I will cross some but not all and I doubt Absolution would do that also,” Angela replied, deliberately being vague.

“And that is why I can’t stay and watch you ruin yourself.”

“It’s not perdition if you try,” Angela replied as Ruby walked past her. She then added, “Ruby, to cut the head off the snake, sometimes avoiding being the snake works.”

“Yeah and I think you’d lose.”

Angela gave a wry smile as she finished her beer. She heard Ruby leave via her usual methods and tossed the bottle. True that she probably had a snowball’s chance to steal a deal as Crowley coined the phrase but she couldn’t not try for Dean. In her mind it was one step behind that final step even though she was playing with fire in terms of learning the finer points of deal making.

The last lesson she had with Crowley had him actually saying that she had the makings of a higher up dealer. He had been impressed with the way she worded the practice deal and actually covered all the loopholes that were conceivable. It would have to take some fancy creative work to break that one. It was then that he pronounced her ready on that level. Like Ruby though, he wasn’t sure that she could take on Lilith now. Maybe she wasn’t given the state of things but she was making provisions on that note.

A knock at the door caught her attention and she walked towards the door and listened. After a moment’s pause, she opened it and let in Dean who was carrying a paper bag. Her nose told her that it had a cheeseburger and fries in there. She said, “I see you brought the Dean healthy food.”

“Figured you might be hungry since you did eat much earlier,” Dean replied as he stepped in carrying the bag. “Sam suggested getting you something though why he didn’t bother…”

“Probably researching,” Angela replied as she shut the door behind Dean. She could smell more than one cheeseburger in that bag. “You are welcome to join me since I gave up bringing the fur ball along. Do you want a beer?” She headed over to where she hid the few bottles that she snaked out of the ice chest.

“Sure.” Dean was almost startled when he saw the bottle fly at him with accuracy. It had him figuring that maybe Angela was not completely helpless. Well she wasn’t considering that she did give him a head smack. “Nice toss.”

“I try. So you brought me a grease ball. I’m touched.”

“Peace offering,” Dean replied with slight smile.

“And one that is gladly accepted.” Angela picked up the bottle of drops knowing that if she put it off any sooner, she was going to get a massive headache. She sat down and asked, “Before chowing down, do you mind giving me a hand?” She held it out.

Dean was a bit nervous but then he used to take care of Sam when he was sick so it wasn’t too much different and the fact that she was asking for help… He took the bottle and watched as she took off the glasses and tilted her head back and waited. He read the bottle even though the light was dim and started with one eye first and then the other.

“There. That wasn’t so bad,” Angela replied when he was finished and she blinked slowly to let the drops be absorbed.

Dean put the bottle on the table and took the empty seat across from her and watched as she pulled out the cheeseburgers. She grabbed his and he watched as she took a sniff and commented, “Extra onions. This must be yours.”

Dean grinned as he took it. “Nothing gets by you.” He watched as she hummed in response. He then sobered and debated on the question he wanted to ask. Biting the bullet he made up his mind, “Um Angie, tell the truth now… how do you really feel about all this?”

“Honestly…”


	10. Chapter 10

“I don’t see why you are interested in what was deemed a car accident.” The cop looked at Sam and Dean with a look that didn’t buy the original cover story they spilled. It really was unusual that the FBI was interested in what was determined to be a car accident. Besides the guys in front of him looked a little young to be FBI agents and he was sure that they were one of those weirdoes.

Sam replied, “Believe us, it is relevant.”

“What is?”

“I’m afraid we can’t tell. Part of an active investigation,” Sam replied. He could see that this guy wasn’t going to get snowed as easily as others.

“One that seems to have bupkiss,” Dean muttered under his breath.

They managed to inquire about the car accident that occurred. What the local authorities found to be a standard car accident, they were able to uncover some suspicious circumstances. For instance the car had been tampered with in certain ways that were designed to cause an accident but not necessarily kill the driver.

The victim, Bonnie Callahan, had been on her way home when it appeared that she lost control of the car. Any evidence of being run off the road was covered by the condition of the car after it flipped and rolled. That much they were able to gather from wheedling their way in and talking to the techs that were assigned to the case.

Now they were checking with the reporting officer and it seemed that the people there were thinking that they were nuts. Sam managed to keep Dean from making comments that would get them thrown out or in jail and they took their leave. Sam gave his usual polite look, “Thank you officer for your time.”

Once they were outside, Dean looked at his brother, “Well that was certainly helpful. You still thinking this was a good idea, Genius?”

Sam made a slight face. He could understand the frustration of the tight lip this town was taking on this case. However the frustration often had Dean overlook a few things. He replied, “Yes I do Dean. They may not have been forthcoming with information but there were a few unusual things.”

“You mean like the compromised brake system? Noticed that while you were snowing the guy at the desk,” Dean replied as he looked around frowning.

“Did you happen to notice the paint transfer on the bumper? Someone ran her off but did a nice job of it so it wasn’t noticed,” Sam pointed out.

“And how do you know it wasn’t there from before?”

Sam gave that shrug that was guaranteed to annoy Dean. “Only one way to find out.”

Dean knew what that meant. “You mean take her down there and have her do that touchy feely yoga crap thing. How do you know even that will work?”

“I don’t. As far as I can tell it comes whenever.”

“So there’s a chance nothing will happen. Well that’s just perfect,” Dean replied. He rubbed his jaw as he started walking to where the Impala was parked. Of course they had worked with less in previous cases and Angela’s touching thing always produced something. He knew Sam was keeping pace with him so he continued talking, “Okay so we take her there and she manages to see what happened, how is that going to help us?”

Sam was relieved that Dean was taking this pretty well. He suspected that his brother talked to Angela the night before even though he said that he was going for a food run and that was after they already ate. He replied, “Well my guess is that depending on the vision, she’ll see it from a certain point of view.”

“Right, meaning that she might see it from the eyes of the victim. That could help or do diddly squat.” Dean opened the door of the driver’s side of the Impala. He saw the look on Sam’s face and added, “I’m not doubting her, Sam. Angie has a sixth sense when it comes to the supernatural but the fact that this seems random… I don’t know.”

“Dean, at least let’s give it a try.” Sam wasn’t sure if Dean was going to digest the details of her vision that was eerily similar to his last nightmare. He hadn’t told him yet and Dean never really saw her do that well probably in the Morton House he did. He decided to at tell Dean that she had one and if his brother asked for details, he would do his best to answer and give them. “We know that she has them and she had one before we came here.” He gave a pointed look at Dean to gauge his reaction .

“I figured on that since she wouldn’t have been persistent,” Dean replied as he got in. When Sam joined him, he continued, “Alright, we can take her there but you know that this may not give everything and we still haven’t heard from Bobby yet.”

“I know. I don’t like this Dean. The fact that she may be caught up in something that she has no clue about…”

“I know Sam. I don’t like it either. No one messes with family,” Dean replied as he started the engine. “No one.”

Sam was in complete agreement with that. After nearly a year and a few rough patches, she had become a firm base in their lives. She certainly was full of advice and wisdom but she didn’t just tell it to you. She showed and tried to lead by example. Certainly he understood a little better why at times she was calm in the face of being shouted at and that was after she talked to him about balance and harmony. Hopefully she had more of a lead than they did.

****

Angela stared at nothing in particular as she sipped the coffee she had bought. She had been asking questions about the accident and had been giving answers that had an implied tone of questioning her sanity. She said that she was a specialist with the local PD and that they asked her to check a few things.

Of course they looked at her funny. She couldn’t see their faces but she could tell that they seriously doubted her story since they could see her cane and she was wearing her dark glasses. She did manage to convince them that her specialist ability was analyzing accounts and follow up. She analyzed reports. People seemed to be more receptive of that and it worked. Plus she was polite and smiled and in essence played the demure girl card.

It was one thing she hated. She disliked playing the weaker of the sexes in order to achieve a goal. Of course she had to take one for the team and she used it. It made her feel dirty even though she had used other, less desirable covers to get what she wanted. It was the whole thing about being perceived as weak. She hated being seen that way by anyone. That feeling went way back to bad memories and a time spent in places she hadn’t even found the courage to talk about. So she bit the bullet and played the card and she got results and now she was mulling over what she found out and tried making connections.

Suddenly her phone rang. She picked it up, “This is Angela.”

_Do you always have to sound so formal?_

Angela smiled and replied, “I do when I don’t recognize the number.” There was no way she was going to reveal that she couldn’t see anything. The less people knew the better and in some twisted way, she felt that it wasn’t going to be permanent. Not if she could help it.

_You should recognize it but then again you really don’t call much anymore. Not ever since they said to hell with you._

“You always did know how to put things into words, princess,” Angela replied as she glanced around, letting her other senses give her a read on who and what was nearby. “So what’s the occasion? Usually you call when there is something of interest.”

_That and when I’m in the mood to talk to a friend. Plus I wanted to see how things are considering that you’ve been with a certain pair of brothers for nearly a year now…_

Angela heard the playful tone in Akira’s voice. She knew the daughter of Kuran was intelligent for her age. She was one of the youngest pure blooded dhampirs. Now that was an enigma in of itself but it wasn’t that strange from her view. Curses on the fact that she could remember the perks of genetics and Angela knew that it was probably the best and worst kept secret… depending on who was telling and knowing.

She knew that Akira liked teasing her about her relationship with the boys. As far as the princess knew, she was just being her usual bitchy self even though she saw the product of their relationship at Heber Springs. The fact that Akira always teased her about Sam had her wondering how long had people seen what took her ages to see. She replied, “Yeah and we’re still doing the same thing: getting into trouble and getting out of it.”

_Right and the down time certainly is filled with the usual meaning research._

“Shut up princess.”

_If only you could make me bitch._

Angela gave a slight smile. The name calling never got old. It was amusing as to how similar the bickering was to that of Sam and Dean. “I would and Fang Boy would be highly amused.”

_Low blow Angie and you know he doesn’t like being called that._

Angela gave a throaty chuckle. Of course she knew that. Yet she still did it because she knew that it annoyed him. She was as bad as Dean. “I know and it’s so much fun.” She sobered and got to the reason why Akira called, “So really princess, why did you call? Going to try and convince me that they want me back and desperately?”

_I know as well as you that they washed their hands of you even though you prevented disaster with the phoenix fruit. Yeah I read the reports from Grace. She was most complimentary of you and your idea and then what happened in the aftermath._

“And Falcon?”

_Praises as usual. Of course the council of the order said that you were the cause of the incident in the first place and then what happened with Vera and that whole thing… Plus there was a report of a break in of the weapons vault. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that?_

Angela deliberately lied, “No. Why?”

_It was a substantial supply of adamantium silver bullets. I know what they’re for as well as you. Only you would use them as a last ditch effort against the abomination Vera._

“Accusing without proof? Not very scientific of you.”

_Not at all. Just an observation. Anyway the reason I called was that I wanted to be sure if you were all right. I know that suddenly losing a resource like the Centurion… It is a bit crippling._

Angela made a slight sound at that and smiled. She knew that lying about what she had Crowley and Ruby do was not a good thing but the less that Akira knew, the better. The girl wouldn’t have to cover her ass and as far as Sam and Dean were concerned, they would be surprised but wouldn’t really care unless they suspected retaliation. She replied, “Princess, I got along fine without the Centurion before I was made to live on sufferance with them. I still have sources.”

_Then you know about the series of murders across the States then_

“Of course,” Angela replied realizing that she sounded like Dean when he was trying to recover from something that he should have known. “Yeah they all have something distinct about them. We’re all over it.”

_Sure you do. The reason I call them murders is because while they were ruled an accident…_

“Something was done to whatever and made it look like an accident.” Angela then dropped the vital clue, “And they all bear similarities to me.”

_Well I guess you did your research after something happened. Don’t try to fib Angie. I know that you wouldn’t have known about it until something happened to you. I was worried when they cropped up and I put together the connections._

“Okay well the million dollar question is who it behind it. The only thing I have is a clue spoken in Ancient Greek,” Angela replied as she took a sip of her coffee. “That and the sneaking suspicion that my reaction told them who I was.”

_Well I know I shouldn’t be giving you Centurion Intel but this is your life and fuck them. The earliest reports are talking about a cult group dedicated to Tiamat, a badass god of darkness. They have been becoming active but nothing to act upon. They say that it might be a bunch of crazies._

“And you and I both know that it hardly ever comes to that,” Angela countered. This was a new tidbit that was providing more information about what was going on. It didn’t explain everything though. Hopefully Bobby was having more luck with the whole Eye of Horus thing. “So they think they might be connected?”

_I think so. They don’t. I observed that they became active when the first so called accidents occurred. You’ve gotten me into some bad habits Angie but it paid off. As far as I could tell this Tiamat cult has pretty much infiltrated major organizations with their members to utilize resources. I mean some members are like Fortune 500 type or they work in high areas of government in all branches._

“It helps to explain why the deaths are scattered across the country,” Angela replied. She was getting that bad feeling again. She still didn’t have the whole picture but the pieces were starting to fit together. “They must be looking for something.”

_My thoughts exactly and for some reason you’re involved._

“Why me?” Angela asked it as a rhetorical question knowing that if it wasn’t one thing, it was another. “I find it extremely annoying that I don’t have a clue to that or what is so damn important. I do know is that they really must not know what I look like completely. That also helps with that part of the puzzle. I hate my life.”

_You love it especially since hooking up with the Winchester boys. I’m sure Sam appreciates it._

“Shut up.”

_I get you Angie. It sucks being considered special and I know that better than anyone. Look I can dig up some more on the Tiamat cult and get back to you on that. Frankly the fact that they are acting and that they don’t have a very good idea of who you are and no one knows exactly what they are after… It has me worried and if they managed to find you and do something…_

“You’re rambling princess,” Angela replied softly. She knew Akira understood her position about being considered important. Hell Akira was royalty and she was… well basically the honored warrior and blah, blah on that account. “Anyway if you can get some information on maybe the leader of this cult, then I would be in a better position.”

_What about the cult itself?_

“I got that covered and Bobby will help.”

_Oh, new boyfriend._

“Shut up princess.”

_I will when you stop revealing your hand, bitch. I’ll see what I can dig up and maybe be a bad girl and use Centurion resources even though I am not ‘officially’ on this one._

“They will indulge you because you are the princess,” Angela replied with no malice. It was true that Akira’s requests would be listened to. “They won’t talk to me unless they need me to save their sorry asses.”

_Alright. I’ll see what I can dig up. Tell Sam and Dean I said hi and that Dean owes me for that tip on the kachina._

Angela moved her head in a curious fashion. So Dean was learning some more about the kachina that took a liking to him? She could smell prank all over it as well as Dean stepping up in terms of learning new weapons. She would investigate later. She caught the sound of the Impala’s engine coming up meaning that the boys did whatever they could to inquire about the body. She replied to Akira, “Will do and tell Fang Boy that I need advance notice on when he plans to come on over to train I don’t want Bobby to start shooting holes in people.”

_Will do. Good luck._

Angela listened to the click of the phone being hung up. She knew Akira would deliver and she was certain the girl was suspicious about some of her answers. It never steered towards her accident but Akira was known for thinking outside of the box on a lot of things. She heard the Impala’s engine switch off and she turned to greet the boys.

****

Kyros looked at the gate that proclaimed the Singer Salvage Yard. He raised a brow at it and leaned against the car that he had hotwired before reaching Sioux Falls. Following protocol, at least what Uncle Mansour taught him, he ditched the car he had driven and stole a new one and finished the rest of the way there. Amunet would appreciate the beauty since it was a classic muscle but it was in serious need of restoration. It would have had her cringing.

His info wasn’t wrong though. This was the only place with the name Singer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and this was it. Kyros just didn’t expect a place like this for someone who was said to be like a father to the warrior princess. There was junk that looked like it had seen better days and there was a certain feeling that was rather… uncomfortable.

Kyros couldn’t put his finger on it as he eyed the gate. Probably the best thing to do would be to drive up and knock but he didn’t know this person. Making up his mind, he drove his car to a space just inside the gate and got out of the car. Out of habit he picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder and started walking through the yard.

Instead of taking the direct route, he cut through the yard. The piles of junkers were actually good places to hide and conduct an ambush and that was exactly the feeling he got as he walked through. There was something that lived there and it wasn’t something cute like puppies. Kyros took his backpack off his shoulder and reached into the bag.

The weapon that he had to defend himself was difficult to get through airport security but there were ways around it. He had put it together when Amunet was driving the car from the airport. It was nice and hard to hit with and it had a blade to go with it. That was the bitch getting through security but if you knew how to hide it, then you were pretty much set at the whole got a weapon at all times thing. It was a comfort to hold as he wandered through the junkyard even though the hairs of his neck started sticking up.

Suddenly he heard a low growl and it was the kind that didn’t mean a good thing. Kyros slowly turned around and came face to face with an abnormally large dog. It was huge and black with red rimmed eyes. It was glaring at him and the teeth were anything but friendly. It looked like a super huge Rottweiler and Kyros could tell that it was anything but that. He had a firm grip on his weapon but it looked like a stick compared to the teeth on that thing. “Okay then.”

Kyros took off running and he knew that it was a mistake. He heard the barking and snarling behind him and the sound of beating paw prints. The thing was chasing him and when he glanced back, he could see the thing close behind him. The thing was out to get him and right on his heels. “Shit,” he muttered to himself and broke into a cold sweat.

He rounded the corner and didn’t see the two by four coming at his head. It hit with a force in his face and his feet flew out from underneath. He landed hard on his back and the back of his head hit the dirt. Kyros grunted in pain and waited for the proverbial hellhound to eat him.

“Good work boy. I thought someone was sneaking around here.”

Kyros looked up to see an elderly face with a trucker’s cap that looked like it had seen better days looking down at him. That was before he passed out. He woke up later to find himself inside a room that looked like a basement and he was tied to a chair and pretty firmly. “This is craptastic. I’m tied to a fricking chair!”

“Ya shut yer trap boy before I sic the mutt on ya.”

Kyros looked to see the elderly man with the trucker cap sitting on the stairs leading in and watching him. Kyros looked around and saw that it was indeed a basement and his chair was in the middle of… Was that a devil’s trap? Did this guy think he was a demon?

Looking around, Kyros could see that his backpack had been placed on a table along with his weapon. Great and he was not that good at slipping ropes. He was in real trouble if he didn’t tell the old man who he was but he wasn’t going to do that until he had a few answers himself. He looked at the old man and said, “Oh sic that thing on me?” Kyros nodded towards what he was sure was a hellhound but the appearance was nothing like he had seen before. “I’ve taken on worse things than that.”

“That ain’t the way I’ve seen things,” the old man said. He stood up and walked towards Kyros and he was holding a flask and a silver knife.

“You planning on exorcising me? Well that’s pretty pointless,” Kyros muttered.

He was ignored for his troubles as the contents of the flask were splashed on him. He sputtered and spat the excess water that had gotten into his mouth. That was refreshing considering that it was nothing but water. If he had to venture a guess, it was holy water and since he was human, that didn’t affect him. “You finished drowning me now?”

Again he was ignored as the old man lifted the sleeve of his shirt up and drew the knife across the upper arm just enough to draw blood. Kyros gritted his teeth since it hurt like a mother. The sad thing was he had been cut before like that but damn they hurt every damn time. “Gah. I’m not a fucking shifter.”

“Sorry but ya can’t be too careful.”

“So are you going to untie me?”

“Hell no, idjit. You were trespassing on my property.”

Kyros pulled against his restraints. They were really tight. “Look I was looking for someone.”

“That seems to be the thing with strange people coming around. Asking about certain people.” The old man circled Kyros and looked at him with a wary look. He then started towards the stairs. “So I ain’t in the mood to be untying ya any time soon.”

Kyros perked up at the mentioning of other people snooping around. Did that mean that they were close? He had to know. “Wait. You said people were coming around.”

“Yeah like you. They left after I said I knew nothing. Then you show up but you decide to sneak in.”

“I wanted to see what was going on?” Kyros offered a sheepish smile.

The old man started up the stairs and muttered something to the mutt. He then said, “I’m calling the sheriff to arrest ya for trespassing.”

“Wait,” Kyros replied as he struggled. “I came here for a reason. I am looking for someone.” Now that he had the old man’s attention, he continued, “I am looking for Absolution.”


	11. Chapter 11

Memnet looked at the altar as it was being prepared. They were close, so close to getting the Eye. She was certain of it. Then the plan would go forward and not only will Tiamat be pleased but also the one who was running the show. Then the rewards would come. Three thousand years and it would finally be over.

Of course she knew it would be near impossible to capture the Keeper. As she managed to persuade guardians to join her cause, the Keepers and the loyal guardians came up with new ways. The Keepers were masters of subterfuge and hiding. That was what they had been doing ever since the bastard sailor king took the Eye and hid it within his city.

The guardians were different since they stayed behind and fought to the death. They were easier to capture and then the sessions came. Those were fun. The ones that turned were released and those that fought… well they got to live up to the honor they strove for. They got to die protecting their Keepers. A three thousand year old fight and the game was just getting sweeter.

Memnet turned away and walked towards a room that was deemed off limits to everyone but her. It was where she gave her reports to those higher up the pay grade since they were most interested in their progress. She walked over to where there was a sculpted goblet that was full of blood. Dipping her finger in it she stirred it and muttered the words. She then took her blood covered finger and drew on the table that it was sitting on.

“This had better be good.”

Memnet turned to face the one that branded her into service as did her mother and mother before her. She kneeled respectfully and replied, “It is. Progress has been made to return what is rightfully yours.” She lowered her head to show reverence.

The response was a slim finger pressing against Memnet’s chin and applying pressure to make her stand up. “Report my loyal servant.”

Memnet kept her eyes lowered out of respect for the goddess that she had served all her life. Well technically she was a demon but her legend was so great that the ancient Babylonians referred to her as a god. She replied, “One of our patrols seems to have found the one that the Keeper is to turn the Eye over to.”

“They found the one called Absolution?”

“You know of her, mistress?” Memnet never doubted that Tiamat would know who the person was. Yet it was surprising that she was referring to the name translated from the Hebraic texts.

“Who doesn’t know of the Malachi of Absolution?” Tiamat looked away from her servant to walk towards the summoning table. It was perfectly laid out. Centuries of tradition and adaptation into perfection. Amazing what time could do with the oldest of things. “The prophecies predate written history of the one who would bring Absolution.”

“My apologies,” Memnet replied. “I am just used to you referring to her in our language.”

“There is no need to apologize. The warrior princess has long been a champion of mortals. She hunts her own kind to protect them even though they are flawed and destructive creatures.” Tiamat picked up an amulet to look at it. She had been studying the prophecies for centuries trying to discern what she could about the Malachi of Absolution. She was interested in the one forged in battle and weaned on siege as the stories went. “Born of two races and made by battle. Interesting since once would think the creature within would be more destructive.”

Memnet glanced over at the demon as she looked around. Apparently what she had said piqued her interest. She continued, “The others were similar in description but nothing was performed in terms of the feats and none reacted to the phrase.”

“Oh you mean that cute little song your people came up with to taunt the sailor that stole the Golden Fleece? That was the kicker wasn’t it. I figured that since he traveled to this time and back, he would have reached out and taught her.”

“You know many things but to assume that he would meet the warrior princess…”

“Of course he would have met her. It was predicted by a soothsayer in his country before he met his destiny,” Tiamat snapped. Sometimes humans were so narrow minded in the concept of time and space. Sometimes it was just best to talk to them like they were idiots since they usually were… even the smart ones were like that. “He would have met her because these things are drawn to her. It is said that she has and can inspire whole armies to follow.”

“I don’t have trouble believing that. Especially since she can convince hunters to ask questions first and shoot later,” Memnet replied in an attempt to acquiesce the demon.

“That is true.” Tiamat sighed and smiled as she turned back to her favorite servant. Memnet had proven the most loyal on this quest for the Eye of Horus.

There were few things, very old things in this world that were worth the time and effort when it came to the secrets of the universe. The Eye of Horus was one such thing and highly sought after especially after the Healer’s Eye disappeared. Where that was… it was a mystery and no thanks in part to its creators. Tiamat wanted the Eye of Horus not because of its individual power but the fact that there was someone else who wanted to use it for the things to come. If it made it into the warrior princess’ hands then another plan would have to be made and Tiamat knew that her master’s patience was limited especially since her mind was consumed with another project.

Memnet saw Tiamat’s mood become more favorable. Perhaps her next bit of news would make her more agreeable. She said, “As you know, we’ve only had what the texts say about the warrior princess and what she looks like. The patrol that found her, they were able to verify it in some other way.”

Tiamat grew interested. Her master said that if they found the warrior princess, they were to make completely sure since she was capable of the slightest deception. The fact that her master knew who Absolution was didn’t escape Tiamat’s mind and figured it was one of those games her master liked to play. Plus it could be that she wanted her best to be familiar with someone who would prove to be a formidable enemy in the future. She replied, “Do tell Memnet. What did they find out?”

“Well the patrol set up an ambush to rough her up a little and get some reaction,” Memnet began slowly. After all to attack and do serious damage would probably incite some sort of wrath. “It was how they identified her in the first place but it wasn’t confirmed until the second one.”

Tiamat knew that her servant was nervous that she might have done wrong. Her master did say that if the warrior princess was found, she was to be relatively unharmed and that meant not seriously injured. She replied, “Of course injury is inevitable in certain things. How bad?”

“Maybe a concussion but um… a case of blindness,” Memnet replied a little nervous.

“Permanent?”

“Not sure. The patrol though stated that she was able to counter their attacks without being able to see.”

Tiamat thought about it a bit. That sounded promising and sounded like something that the warrior princess would be able to do. It might not completely please her master but judging from Memnet’s expression, there was more that would make this report even more delightful to the master. She replied in reassuring tones, “As I said injury can happen depending on what the target does. IS there anything else?”

Somewhat satisfied that she wasn’t going to have her head lopped off for doing something wrong, Memnet was encouragement to continue, “She wasn’t alone.”

“Really?” Tiamat became very interested.

“It was a man. Young and tall. She called him Sam.” Memnet paused a moment. She then continued, “It seemed too much a coincidence with the reaction and then the name. I believe that it is her and she is with Sam Winchester.”

Tiamat would have snapped since it was a no brainer that the warrior princess would be traveling with Sam Winchester and that meant that Dean Winchester wouldn’t be too far behind. Her master would be doubly pleased that they found her. Her master was obsessed with the warrior princess and Sam Winchester. “This is most enlightening Memnet. This will delight our master considerably.”

“What would you have me do?”

Tiamat knew that the master would want to make sure that the warrior princess suffered. The fact that she was wanted alive was puzzling but her master wanted it that way. Well she would serve and do what she had to. “Is the patrol assigned still following?”

“They… lost them. The driver Dean Winchester evaded them. How… they don’t know.”

“Well get a tracker if you have to.”

“Also the guardian escaped. She will be making her way to the Keeper. Do you think that putting our resources to following her would be better?”

Tiamat considered. It would be but because there were those innovative Keepers that changed the rules, everything was up for a toss except for the few things that could be predicted. She turned to stare at the painting that depicted Marduk defeating her… as if. “No. I have an idea and it will guarantee that we get the Eye, Sam Winchester dead and the warrior princess in the hands of the master, broken and ripe for the taking.”

“Your wish is my command.”

****

The stretch of road was empty as Dean pulled the Impala to the side of the road. It was a long shot since Angela’s version of visions were just like Sam’s when he was made into a pawn of Yellow Eyes. They were unpredictable at best though he was certain that he wouldn’t want them. He didn’t forget how she was at the Morton House but he was surprised at how well she held together. Even after she explained about the whole hot spot thing, he was amazed since he did hear that they were sources of power.

“Is this is?”

Dean glanced in the rearview mirror to see that Angela was looking at him. It was weird since she couldn’t see anything. “Yeah.”

“Okay. Let’s get this over with,” Angela replied as she popped the door open and got out without a problem.

She had been agreeable to helping out in whatever way she could. Dean could see that she just needed to feel useful and understood that. It went back to that conversation they had earlier and she admitted that she was scared that this would be a permanent thing. He had to hand it to her though that she was trying to make the most of it and putting on a brave face. That he could understand. When she did that when confronted about her feelings regarding Sam, it was like talking to a petulant toddler but she was getting better about that though.

Angela sighed as she ran the cane along the surface. She knew that it was fairly a rural road but there was pavement. She could feel the vibrations from the rubbing the cane made along the surface and she could feel the road through the soles of her feet. While it was a bitch to not be able to see, she was able to appreciate that she had other senses to compensate and she marveled at the perception from those senses.

When the boys came to pick her up, she didn’t have much time to tell them about her phone conversation. Rather Dean came out and asked her if she could do her touchy feely thing to see what happened. The fact that he came right out and asked had her stunned for a moment. In case like this he took a leaf out of Sam’s book and would ask a leading question before asking if she could do something for them. In the end she agreed to it and barely got out two words before Dean said, “Let’s go.”

Even though most people would find his behavior callous since she was the poor little blind girl, she actually was amused and appreciated it. He wasn’t treating her like glass and she suspected that his whole set of feelings regarding the matter had something to do with it. It was no matter as she started walking around the area, feeling with the cane and with her feet almost looking like she had one of those weird metal detectors.

They were on the side of the road where the car had come to a stop after being flipped. There was nothing but dirt and some remaining bits of debris. That didn’t matter though since Angela knew that Sam and Dean were waiting to see if she could put together a bigger picture for them. Even though she had the info from Akira, she had learned that the more information you had, the better you could plan for the road ahead.

Angela was certainly picking up a vibe. That was the thing when it came to victims that had especially violent deaths. It was one of the reasons why she could track down a vengeful spirit like a bloodhound. That and because of her sensitivity to the spirit realm which she had to thank her first death for. If she hadn’t died that first time she wouldn’t be able to see reapers and invisible spirits and anything else that fed on the spirit realm.

Now though it seemed to have picked up at bit since she died again… well she had died a few times since then but this last one at Lilith’s instigation really messed things up. At least that was her opinion. Now that she was blind, it seemed to have become more acute. It certainly felt like she was back in the Morton House but less intense. At least she hoped it was.

“Um anything?”

Angela paused and straightened up and gave a slight smile. Patience was definitely not Dean’s thing but she loved him for it since she often had to rescue him from butch girls kicking his ass. He repaid her by once decking this biker guy that was Sam’s height. Of course the guy had just punched Sam in the face and she did give the guy second thoughts about fathering children for the next five or so years. “Just give me a moment Dean.”

“I thought you just had to touch something and poof.”

“Dean.”

Angela started chuckling. “Not exactly Dean. The only reason I can sniff out spirits is because of the energy and when a person dies there is an amount of energy released. Hauntings… you sort of know about that.” She motioned with her fingers, not really looking at them.

“Tell me about it. So how does it work?”

Angela looked back to where the boys were waiting. She then looked in the direction of the ground in thought. “Well… I guess I have to feel the vibe.”

“Feel the vibe? That sounds like that new age hippy crap,” Dean replied as he crossed his arms.

“Dean.”

“Just calling it like I see it Sammy.”

“That doesn’t mean that you make fun of her,” Sam replied motioning towards Angela while giving the medium grade bitch face.

“It was a compliment and she knows it,” Dean retorted.

“ _She_ can hear you both,” Angela interjected even though her back was turned. She found a stronger pull and didn’t really relish touching anything but it might or might not help. “It is new age hippy crap and yet it is really old new age hippy crap.”

“See Sam? A compliment,” Dean motioned towards Angela.

Sam still gave the mid-grade bitch face. He really didn’t get how Angela could stand Dean’s lack of tact. Even when she said something similar, she came off more elegant. He just didn’t get it. To him it sounded insulting of her abilities. “Not really.”

“It’s okay Sam. I said something similar to one of those Centurion dicks and everyone cracked up,” Angela replied as she inched her way towards the source of the strongest pull. “You see the difference between Dean and me is that I can make it funny. He just makes the butch biker want to take a swing at him.”

“Hey you started that,” Dean pointed at Angela. “You were the one that said he couldn’t keep up.”

“Dean, she was hustling the guy at darts,” Sam corrected. “You were the one that said he hit like a girl.”

“And that was after you decided to take a swing at him for giving the worse pick up line in the history of pick-up lines,” Dean countered. “Even Bobby could come up with something better.”

“Eww. Bad mental image,” Angela said and made a big show of rubbing her head because of a headache to tease Dean. “That is so interrupting my vibes.”

“Sorry Angie,” Dean replied feeling contrite not noticing that Sam and Angela were trying hard not to laugh at him. He watched her and said, “Shut up, Sam.”

Angela gave a wry grin as she inched forward. She had wandered away from where the vehicle landed to a place that was away from it and not from the direction the car was coming from. The vibe was strongest in that direction and it was strange. If she had her sight, she probably would have seen something. This time she didn’t have it.

Sam watched as Angela walked away from the crash site. She must have picked up something since she was heading in a straight direction. The fact that she was walking away had him thinking too that maybe the whole thing was being watched by someone. He didn’t have to look at Dean to know that he was aware she was onto something. Silently they followed her.

Angela knew they had her back and were following since she could hear two pairs of shoes following her. She tuned that out to follow the ‘scent’ to the source. It was only then that she stopped and kneeled. It seemed a bit ridiculous to do so since she couldn’t see a damn thing with her eyes but she felt the tug the strongest here. She moved her head like an inquisitive puppy would and slowly reached out with her hand.

It was disconcerting when she felt her hand tremble as she put it closer. That meant it was really strong or something really old. That would confirm probably the Tiamat cult. There was only one way to know for sure though. Sighing she pressed her hand on the ground and her fingers touched something and she frowned as she saw what happened.

_The car, a typical medium sized sedan, was heading down the highway at a fast speed. It was being followed by a black nondescript car going at an equally fast speed. The black car rear ended the sedan and the sedan tried to pull ahead. The black one followed suit._

_The sedan rounded the bend and was hit in the classic pit maneuver. The sedan tried to compensate but flipped over. Angela watched as it rolled over before landing where the boys were walking. It shook just a little before coming to a complete stop._

_Bonnie Callahan was struggling but weakly. How Angela knew that it was Bonnie was a product of logic and of course the fact that it was the car accident that killed her. Angela walked forward in an attempt to help but was stopped when the black car pulled to a stop near the wreck. A guy in a suit got out with a 9mm pulled out. He approached the car with his gun drawn and ready to kill._

_Angela observed the man. He was dressed like a fed would be. What caught her attention was what was on the lapel. It was one of those lapel pins for decoration. She had seen plenty of them on fed suits and occasionally utilized one on her covers. Of course since September 11 th she only wore the American flag or sometimes the eagle._

_The pin was interesting. She could make out possibly Mesopotamian maybe in the motif. The guy could have been mistaken for an Arab. She watched as he pointed his gun at Bonnie who was struggling to breathe. It was easy for Angela to see that she was dying and that there was nothing to do._

_The guy in the suit kneeled to look at her. He grinned at the pained and dying expression of Bonnie. “Sorry my sweet but you aren’t the one we are looking for.”_

_Slowly he reached in and pinched her nose. He watched with pleasure as Bonnie choked on her own blood and suffocated. When he was satisfied that she was dead, the guy in the suit stood up and wiped his bloodied hand on his trouser and holstered his weapon. He walked to his car while pulling out a cell phone and dialing a number._

Angela felt herself being pulled out of the vision. It was really disturbing that she could see past events or in the case of that one vision she had when she touched Sam, the future, and she really didn’t know how to explain it. She was blind and yet she could see the details as clear as day. It was one of those things that she couldn’t hope to understand and figured it was a spirit realm thing or the unusual quirk of seers. She did meet a blind one once.

The other thing was that she viewed the scene as a third party but from the place where she was sure she was standing. That meant someone was watching it go down. Maybe there was a witness of the whole thing and they might have been the one that placed the 911 call. She wanted to know more and while holding the thing she found in her hand, she pressed her fist into the ground to try and stir up the vision. She was trying to do like a playback or something and maybe get something that she might have missed.

“You see something Angie?”

Angela stopped when she realized that she wasn’t going to get it back anytime soon. Sighing she stood up and replied glancing in Dean’s direction, “Yeah. Saw the accident… well at least the part where the guy ran her off the road. He finished her off by letting her suffocate in her own blood.”

“Okay. Anything else?” Sam was tempted to touch her on her arm but decided to give her space while she sorted through everything.

“Confirmed my theory that they didn’t know what I exactly looked like. He said that she wasn’t the one before killing her.”

“You know that it could mean anything Angie. Did you see anything else? Anything that would have referred to you?” Dean ignored Sam’s bitch face for the moment.

“The lapel pin. It was probably a cartouche or something but Mesopotamian. I don’t know exactly but…” Angela paused. She remembered something that had been overlooked. “It was also on the car the guy in the suit drove. It must signify a membership or something.”

Angela looked around even though she couldn’t see anything. She used her fingers to brush away the dirt around the amulet that she held. She could tell it was one since it was the right size and she felt the frayed end of a lanyard. She walked forward a bit and turned back towards the accident.

Dean noticed how she was standing and asked, “Something else?”

Angela fingered the amulet some more. It felt familiar; the shape she could feel with her fingers. She frowned slightly as she felt it. This really was weird. She replied, “Yeah. Someone watched the whole thing and I may have an idea who.”


	12. Chapter 12

“You are such an ass when you’re a spoilsport Dean.”

“It’s good for your own good Angie. You’re the one who said that alcohol and pills shouldn’t mix. Just drink the stuff.” Dean held out the bottle towards Angela with a look that said he would make her if she didn’t take it. It was pointless since she couldn’t see it but it was what he did.

“Jerk,” Angela replied as she took the bottle and popped the top with ease.

“Yeah and ya love me for it.”

“Don’t mistake brotherly love for sarcasm and whatever I feel in the mood for,” Angela retorted, not meaning a word of it. Of course she loved Dean. “Besides that thing about the pills and alcohol was in reference to you two. I don’t get drunk.”

Dean chuckled. He had given her a bottle of that juice stuff that kept bodies hydrated mainly because it did have all the essential nutrients and was somewhat convinced that it would help in restoring her sight. “Yeah you do. Just not on the good stuff but something more carbonated.”

“Bicarbonate is a bitch.” Angela smirked as she took a sip of the stuff. She hadn’t made any in a while so she was surprised when Dean handed it to her. She added, “Nice job, Dean.”

“I didn’t make it.”

“Don’t lie to me bulldog. I can still whip you even though I can’t see,” Angela replied smiling to indicate it wasn’t a serious threat. She knew that sometimes Dean didn’t take compliments like normal people. She wasn’t a head shrink but she did know that he did seek John’s approval by being the good little soldier and she often used to give the third degree to John about showing more affection and that the Marine look was damned annoying at times.

“That I’d like to see,” Dean replied taking the pet name she gave him by ignoring it. Well he tried to but that didn’t always work. He felt like he was five years old again every time she called him that but he found that he liked it. He could understand why now Sam would only let him or her call him Sammy. It was personal.

“You know you’re asking for trouble right?” Sam looked up from his laptop where he was researching the lapel pin trying to find out what it was.

Angela had given a very good description of the pin. At least she did of what she saw. Sam had written down everything since she couldn’t draw it for him. She was very specific about certain designs so that really helped a lot. He had gotten on the laptop and started looking into it while they were catching a bite to eat.

Dean gave the ‘shut up’ look and replied, “I can handle it Francis. So you find anything?”

“Almost but Angie you were right. It is definitely Mesopotamian or Babylonian but I haven’t quite found anything specific yet.”

“What about that thing in her hand?”

Angela had been gripping the amulet in her hand ever since she found it. The shape was peculiar and familiar but it was also unfamiliar. The familiar was like that weird instinctive thing but the unfamiliar was that she had no idea what it was she was holding. The fact that she was unfamiliar with it could mean that it was something new and she never heard of it before like the Morton House or it was really old and she didn’t know that kind of thing. She leaned a bit towards Dean and said, “It’s an amulet Dean.”

“Whatever. So we have an accident that is not an accident, no surprise there since it’s related to Angie, and someone was watching and didn’t do a damn thing except call 911. The only thing we have is that weird amulet and whatever Francis here is looking up. Any reason why we shouldn’t drop this?”

“None I can think of,” Angela replied as she took another drink of the stuff Dean gave her. She fingered the amulet and added, “Oh don’t forget Bobby is checking on the Eye thing.”

Before Dean could reply, his phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It showed a blocked number and he grew wary of it. It hadn’t been too long ago since that thing with the Crocotta that Sam kicked ass with and Angela still wasn’t talking about it except to be her helpful self. He looked at the phone as it continued to ring and then at Sam who was looking at him silently asking if he was going to answer it.

Giving a slight eye roll, Dean flipped the phone open and answered, “Hello?” The voice that the end had him widen his eyes slightly and he pulled the phone away to look at it before putting it back to his ear. He was surprised since at first he suspected that it might be Haley since she was doing the hunter thing. He ventured, “Akira, right? How did you get this number?”

The response had Dean looking at Angela who was just staring but it looked like she was trying to listen to what was being said. Obviously no answer from her on that and Sam was looking confused at him. He put his ear to the phone and replied, “Okay so you found me. What do you want? Is this about that thing I asked about?”

Sam looked at Angela and she turned towards him. She shrugged her shoulders since she wasn’t picking up anything. He looked at Dean, “Dean?”

Dean motioned towards his brother as he listened. “Alright fine. Let me put you on speaker…” He pressed the button and put the phone on the table and backed away from it like it was a bomb or something.

_… bloody stupid…_

“Whoa there princess, we got someone with delicate ears here,” Angela replied as soon as she heard Akira’s voice. She glanced over in Sam’s direction since she was making reference to his tendency to blush at the crude things that she said.

_Angie, you tell that stupid clod you travel with that I don’t do speaker conversations._

“Hey if you have something for us, you tell us,” Dean replied shouting at the phone.

“Dean, keep it down. Walls have ears,” Angela said.

“What?”

_Seriously, you travel with this? Anyway before Dean put me on speaker I was trying to get Sam’s email so I can send what I found. I know you don’t like responding until months later and I get the feeling Sam is more diligent._

“Diligent is the word,” Dean muttered.

_And annoyingly petulant is yours._

Sam waved his brother off before he started on a tirade with Akira. He said, “So you found something on what we’re doing? How…?”

_It was something I was looking into more or less against the order’s directive. Call it a friendly concern regarding a mutual friend of ours._

Angela quietly snickered at that. The princess really knew how to play off a compromised situation. Then again she taught her how and it seemed only to gain her favor with the Centurion dicks. Well she was the funny one and Akira was the ‘good’ one and yet they were a pair when they teamed up the few times they did.

Sam saw Angela’s shoulders shake with the telltale signs of laughter and figured it must be a joke that he wasn’t getting and Dean as sure as hell wasn’t but he was astute enough to tell that the mutual acquaintance was referring to Angela. The thing was he didn’t want to give his personal email out so he gave the shared account that Angela set up a long time ago, “winchange304 at…”

_I thought so. I know the rest. No need to reveal a secure domain. Thanks Sam._

“Uh… you’re welcome.”

At that moment there was ding indicating that an email arrived. Sam clicked on it and it opened to reveal the product of several days’ worth of research. He said, “Got it. How long did it take you to get this?”

_Oh a couple of hours._

Sam thought he was good but then again he was going up against a research professor. He was impressed by the amount of detail of back tracing on every little aspect. “Thanks.”

_No problem Sam. Just read everything first before assuming. Oh and Dean, you owe me a big favor for that thing I showed you._

Dean scowled. It was on the tip of his tongue to tease Sam about having competition in terms of research. Maybe even turning it into a joke regarding fighting for Angela’s affections since she had seemed to have gotten better at taking a joke that referenced her affections for Sam. Now Akira spoiled it by reminding him of the debt he owed and they weren’t supposed to know about that. He replied in an annoyed tone, “Alright but that was a special arrangement.”

_Status quo changed the moment you put me on speaker. Now you guys be careful with that stuff. It’s really old and I would keep an extra eye out for a tail. These guys are serious business._

“Thanks princess. I’ll remember that and tell Fang Boy that the history lesson is helpful,” Angela replied. She smiled as she heard the response and laughter and clicked it off.

“Christian helped?” Dean asked since Sam was busy already looking at the stuff that Akira sent. “I thought he was just the PE teacher.”

Angela started laughing. “Hell no, Dean. He’s the head of history at the academy. He probably added a detailed history of whatever it is the princess sent. And what’s this thing about a special arrangement? Do you really want to risk getting a visit from Fang Boy?”

“Shut up,” Dean replied as he sat down petulantly and took a swig of his beer. At least they were in an outdoor venue.

Sam was chuckling to himself as he scan read. It really was detailed information and really good stuff. “Dean you would risk getting your limb ripped off if it involved them. So what did you arrange?”

“Shut up bitch. What do you got?”

Sam recognized Dean’s clear statement of leave it or I’ll kick your ass and giving a slight smile, he replied, “Well it looks like it is related to that lapel pin. In fact I have a picture of it here.” He flipped the laptop around so Dean could see it. “Meet the Tiamat cult. It’s supposedly very old dating back to ancient Babylon and revered the goddess Tiamat, the goddess of chaos.”

“Figures,” Dean muttered as he looked at the image. “Man she is one ugly broad in this picture.”

“Well she would be since according to the archive notes from the Centurion, Tiamat is actually a demon and a powerful one,” Sam added as he flipped to the set of notes that Akira included. “She was powerful back in the heyday of Babylon that the people there worshipped her like a god.”

“Dumb schmucks,” Dean replied. “Okay so she’s a demon which means she can be trapped and exorcised.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple Dean,” Sam replied. “This demon lives to bring chaos… well she is chaos and because she had a devout following of worshippers, it is pretty much godlike.”

“That’s impossible Sam. A demon can’t be a god…”

“Actually in ancient Greek spirits were called demons. It didn’t matter if they were good or bad,” Angela interjected hoping to shed some light on the subject. “Chaos is said to be the primordial soup from which order is created so in a way it does make sense that Tiamat is that powerful. Plus the added worshipping… sort of like how tulpas are and is the source of a god’s clout here in the world. As long as there are people who believe and worship, the god stays alive. In fact the worst kind of death is to be forgotten.”

“Thanks for the etymology lesson professor,” Dean replied looking at Sam with that intense look as well as the laptop screen. This really was a screw you to them. “Alright so we got a cult that worships this bitch and they want something and they think Angie has it.”

“Brilliant deduction detective,” Angela replied teasing. Something wasn’t right and she was straining to reach out. “Now why didn’t I think of that?”

“A little less on the sarcasm sweetheart,” Dean replied. “Besides, that usually seems to be the case when we get blindsided by something like this. So it has me thinking about the kid of crap you did for the Centurion. What do you know?”

“There are a lot of things I know that could fill a book and then some Dean. You don’t live five centuries without learning a few tricks and for me it was mostly the get out of scrapes kind of tricks involving my little sorcerer’s bag,” Angela replied. “As to what this cult means, I think I have an idea but we need what Bobby has dug up in order to see if I’m right.”

“So you care to fill us in?”

“You know as much as I do about the Eye thing.”

“And here I thought you knew everything,” Dean replied in frustration. He hated the fact that while they had this stuff on a cult of a super demon that was probably in the same class as Lilith, it gave them jack squat except that they were looking for Angela and they had no idea who she was until she gave it away. And it all went back to that Jason guy who was really from the past and a different country. Their life was just perfect right now.

“I don’t know everything, Dean,” Angela replied, “and you know that. It bothers me too since it is probably connected to this Eye thing and probably I encountered one of their guys and now they want revenge.”

“Really though, after a long period of time, now they want revenge?” Sam asked the question hoping that she would pick up on the fact that she sounded a bit ridiculous with that theory. “Sounds weak even for you.” He studied her and noticed that she looked like she was looking at the ground like a berated child.

“Just an example. I know that sounded like crap but that’s not important now.”

“Not important? Angie this is your life and don’t get started on your spiel and my deal,” Dean started. He was interrupted by Sam patting his arm and he almost shrugged his brother off harshly. “What Sam?”

“She doesn’t mean that,” Sam replied as he studied Angela’s movements. He noticed that she had become more alert and ready to spring. Something had her reacting like she would if she were on a hunt and he could see that it wasn’t going to be a good thing. “What is it Angie?”

Angela had gotten that tingly feeling like she was being watched. While Sam was filling in Dean and showing him what Akira sent, she had been paying attention to her surroundings. True there were other people around but she got the feeling that she was being watched and not in the good way. She couldn’t see them but she just had a feeling. She didn’t move but spoke low, “Someone is watching. Be my eyes and look around. What do you see?”

Dean could see some guy that looked like a fed near the stand where they bought their food off to Angela’s left. “One o’clock. Suit and tie, glasses.”

Sam picked up on it and looked in his range of vision. He picked up two more and he recognized the suits from his dreams. “Nine and eleven. Same get up.”

Angela took this in. “On approach?”

“Yeah,” Dean replied after a moment. The guys were definitely moving towards them. They really didn’t have time for these assholes. “They’re closing in. What do you want to do?”

Angela listened to the report they gave. So far three had been sent and that was probably more than enough. Then again they could be stupid humans but this was Tiamat and her cult so there could be a few surprises. “Leave. Walk away and see if they follow us.”

“I think that is the plan.”

“Dean, the others,” Sam motioned with his head slightly.

Angela led the way and stood up. She was able to get off the bench without any trouble and stood there holding her cane, ready to go. Dean and Sam followed suit after Sam stuffed his laptop back in his bag. They started making a circular path back to the Impala trying not to let on that they knew they were being followed. Angela held onto Sam’s elbow since it was easier than doing the feeling thing with the cane. “Still following?” She asked the question while staring straight ahead.

Dean managed to make it look like he was getting a look of déjà vu or something to take a look. “Yeah they still are. There are five, maybe more.”

“Dean what are we going to do? We can’t just fight them off.”

“You don’t think that I thought about that Sam?” Dean hissed through his teeth trying to come up with some sort of plan. He wasn’t like Angie who could pull a plan out of her ass like that. She was the brains on that.

Sam kept looking straight ahead. He did manage to spot one and this was a guy that looked like he was on a SWAT team or something and he was up ahead and on the roof of a building. Oh that was just perfect. He didn’t say anything but he did feel Angela’s hand tighten on his elbow and he realized that he was witnessing her being a little scared. He couldn’t blame her since she was probably thinking that she was going to be put in a position to defend herself and she wasn’t able to see anything.

“A moment of clarity,” Angela muttered in a low voice. She was scared and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like it at all since it contributed to that feeling of weakness and she loathed such a feeling. They were being followed and probably by cult members. They weren’t ready for this so it was actually best that they run away. She gripped Sam’s elbow tighter and drew comfort that something familiar was there.

The respite was short lived when one of the suit guys stepped directly in their path. “Excuse me, but do I know you?”

“Hell I hope not,” Angela muttered. She could smell cheap cologne and the tone of voice was something she would rather avoid.

Dean picked up her cue and said, “Nah. We’re just passing through.”

“I really think I do know you,” the guy said as he advanced.

Angela recognized the voice. It was from before. So they were being followed and that was really bad. “Sam,” she whispered loud enough for him to hear. She tried hard to keep from trembling hating that she was feeling that way.

It wasn’t much but Sam understood what she meant. It took him a while since the guy that gave him the sucker punch had looked a little scraggly the last time they met. That was the guy that said whatever it was to Angela that started them on this. The sudden tightness on his elbow wasn’t so bothersome now. In fact it was the only thing that kept him from being stupid and charging in guns blazing. He said in a side whisper, “Dean. He’s the one.”

“Now what’s with all the whispering? It hasn’t been too long,” the guy in the suit said.

“Not long enough,” Angela muttered.

Dean glanced behind them and noticed that everyone was moving closer. That was just perfect. “This is just like the time in that sewer with that gang thing,” he muttered hoping that his brother and Angela would get what he was getting at.

Sam picked up on it. “Right.” He felt Angela’s hand shift on his elbow. He could tell she understood and she would have shifted her cane to a different position. He faced forward looking for an opening.

It came when one of the guys behind them advanced and put a hand on Angela’s shoulder. Dean was the quickest to act and grabbed the offending hand and gave a right hook. That started the fight and the others were on them quicker than anything.

Sam was grabbed by one of them and he countered swing his fists like his brother did. Angela felt the tug as Sam was yanked from her grasp and she was left standing there alone. It was tempting to reach out and try to feel but she didn’t do that. Instead she lowered her hand but it was apart from her body just enough to be ready for an attack.

“It’s a lot different when you can’t see huh?”

Angela stood facing the guy that spoke to her before. Her head was slightly down as she tried to listen to what was going on around her. She replied, “There are other ways of seeing.”

“But you are as blind as a bat. What happened before was a fluke but I am willing to believe that the great warrior princess is capable of that small feat.”

Angela heard a whirring sound. Well it sounded like something was flying through the air. She stood there trying to discern what it was and how close. If she struck out too soon, if she was open to attack but if she waited too long, she was more likely dead and some very pissed off Winchesters on her hands.

She didn’t need to strike because at that moment Sam saw the attack and blocked the blow that was coming from behind while she brought her cane up to deflect the blown from the other guy. She added a punch that contacted with the chest of the guy. It felt good but she was momentarily panicked when someone grabbed her upper arm until she realized it was Sam. She couldn’t help but let out a shriek.

Sam didn’t mean to scare Angela but he had to get the guy that was sneaking up behind her since her concentration was on the guy in front of her. It helped since she knocked the guy senseless but not for long. So he did what he could do and that was take her by the arms and point her in a direction. “Angie, it’s me.”

“Sam. Get her and go,” Dean shouted before delivering a left cross. He got a punch across the chin and countered with a backhand. These guys were good but he was a brawler and Dad taught him well and he picked up a few good tricks from his girl. “Sam!”

Sam had paused to see his brother take a fist in the mouth. He was still holding onto Angela and was surprised when she brought up her cane in a backhand maneuver and hit one of the guys that tried to hit him. He then heard his brother shout to grab Angela and get out. “Dean!”

“Sam. Do it!”

Angela meanwhile had been fending off their attackers. It was hard since she was in close proximity of Sam and she didn’t want to hit him. It was startling when she felt herself being lifted and flung over a set of shoulders and was carted away. “What the fuck?”


	13. Chapter 13

Bobby stared at the boy that was sitting at his table in the study holding what appeared to be nothing more than an amulet. He was trying to make sense of what he had learned within the past few hours. He glanced at Cerebus who was enjoying his new form and lolling on the ground. He had learned to trust the mutt’s judgment on certain things so he could tell that the boy was okay. Hell he even passed the tests.

Kyros held the amulet in his hands. It was the first time that he had actually taken the amulet out of its casing. As far as he could tell, he wasn’t supposed to unless it was Absolution, the guardian of the Eye of Horus. Yet he could see that it was one step further proving that he wasn’t the enemy and that he was looking for her.

“So that’s the Eye of Horus?”

Kyros held it up and replied, “Yep.”

Bobby looked at it and then at the boy. He could be no older than eighteen or so. “And you’re supposed to give it to Angie?”

“Yep. If her other name is Absolution.” Kyros glanced around. He spotted a framed photo that was fairly recent. He was tempted to get up and look but at the moment he was undergoing a less painful interrogation.

“She wields Absolution idjit,” Bobby automatically corrected. She had everybody doing that now. “And how do ya know yer supposed to bring it to her?”

“Because it is part of the story passed down for nearly three thousand years when my ancestor returned from a place in the future and spoke of the warrior princess, a woman who wields Absolution and strives to take burdens away,” Kyros replied as he quoted from the actual story he had been told all his life. “She is tall with darkened hair who many claim wise with a set of perfect tawny eyes.”

Bobby raised his brows at the kid. He had heard of similar description about his girl; mostly about her eyes. Everyone talked about her eyes and that seemed to be the most consistent description. Some he thought were overblown and knew that she thought they were too. “And I heard that she is described angel wise with tawny hawk eyes.” It was total bullshit since it was combining three different descriptions.

Kyros raised his brow like he was impressed. He nodded while looking at Bobby, “Wow. That is very good. You just quoted three different passages within the text. So you really know about why I’m here.”

“Cheeky lil’ bastard.”

Kyros put the Eye back in its box but left the lid open. He folded his arms and said, “Look I know that you don’t trust me. What my ancestor said about you was that you were the wizened hunter who helps Absolution, the Champion and his brother when they need it.”

“And you might as well be anything out there that is being used to get to her.” Bobby had his hand on a gun and was ready to use it. Even if Cerebus was accepting of the kid, he still had to be cautious.

Kyros saw the gun and knew that the old man was being cautious. He sighed. So far he hadn’t revealed who his ancestor was. He replied, “But I am not. I am bringing the Eye of Horus to Absolution as was first instructed by Jason after he came back from this time.”

Bobby hesitated slightly. He remembered that swaggering young sailor that had set Sam’s teeth on edge. They may have gotten along but Bobby was no fool since he caught Sam watching the guy to make sure he didn’t do anything to Angela. Come to think of it, the boy sitting there looked very much like him. He had to make sure though.

He barked an order at Cerebus to watch the kid while he went to where he kept things that he didn’t want people to see. Well the things that had the most value to him. He was not like Angela who hid things within her books especially the ones that people were least likely to look at. He found what he was looking for and held it up while Kyros looked at him.

There was no denying the strong resemblance. They called it a genetic resemblance but three thousand years later? Well that was not really a strong point since he had seen the picture of Elena and Angela together that Dean sent via cell phone and that was only five hundred years difference and a sibling that Angela never knew about.

Dean had given Sam’s evidence and the things they found out and even Bobby had to agree. Elena and her family was Angela’s blood family. He also agreed with Dean that if she hadn’t figured it out by now, it was best not to tell her. It sounded petty when he asserted that she was their girl but she reciprocated. Granted that it was not always the touchy feely type but she gave back in the little things that meant much and mostly that was being a kind woman who didn’t expect a thing in return. She was family and she knew that.

“So do I pass?”

Bobby looked at the image and the boy once more before putting it back in the drawer. He walked over to where the kid was sitting. “Alright, I can see the family resemblance and I did meet him.”

“So then we don’t have a problem?”

Bobby shrugged his shoulders. “The hell mutt is a good judge of character. Just being cautious but that doesn’t mean that we’re friends.”

Kyros nodded with a raised brow. He could understand that. It took time to build trust. “I get that. So where is Absolution so I can give it to her?”

“She’s not here.”

Kyros felt the stirring of alarm. That wasn’t good. He had been told that she would be here. Something was up. “On a job?”

“She’s a hunter idjit. It’s what she does.”

Kyros studied the room. “It is important that I give it directly to her. I can’t just hand it off to anyone.”

Bobby noticed the worried look. Something must be up. What he could dig up on the Eye of Horus was the story that his evil uncle Set struck him in the eye when they fought. The boy was avenging his father’s death. Anything else he came up with nothing except that it was a source of great healing power. He had never heard of an object like that amulet. There were those cheap ones but something like what he researched, he had never seen until the kid showed him. So it made sense if the kid was scared about something. “Okay I get that but I have to ask why?”

“It is not that simple. If I were to give it to you… you would… It would not be pleasant,” Kyros replied as he shut the lid of the box. He put it back in his backpack and began making preparations. “I have to go. I can’t stay here.” He rapidly checked everything to make sure he had money as well as his weapons.

“And where do you think yer going?”

Kyros’ phone vibrated and the text message popped up. He glanced at it and put it in his jacket pocket. “I have to keep moving. They may have already figured out everything. I have to disappear.” He started to get up from his seat and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

“Yer not going anywhere. You came here telling me that you have something for Angie and now yer saying that ya have to leave?” Bobby was frowning at Kyros as if he were out of his mind. The best thing was to keep an eye on the kid and get everyone together on the same page.

“You don’t understand. They have been after this for nearly three thousand years. They have their ways of finding it. My specialty is hiding. It is best if I disappear.” Kyros started to make his way to the door when he was grabbed by the upper arm by Bobby.

“Now wait a minute. Who are they that ya keep talking about? What is so special about this amulet?”

Kyros paused. He then replied, “They are the cult of Tiamat a very powerful demon. She wants the Eye because of the healing power it possesses. Legend says that it really is the eye of Horus. Also there are rumors that it is part of a three part seal and if all three are found and put together then something bad happens. But that’s just a story. However there is a story stating that it wasn’t Set that tore out Horus’ eye but Tiamat herself.”

“So yer saying that it’s one of them cosmic battles over something that can heal?” Bobby looked at the kid. This was starting to sound like a passing of a guarding thing off to Angela as if she were the only one who could do it. That Jason fellow must have really over exaggerated his experiences with her for this to occur.

“The Eye is one of the most powerful healing objects, one of two if I am not mistaken. The other is called the Healer’s Eye or some called it the Sorcerer’s Stone. There are things out there that would love to get their hands on them.”

“And I’m guessing yer the easiest since you’re a human,” Bobby supplied. “Well yer not going anywhere. You say ya need to give this to Angie. Well yer gonna give it to her and yer going to explain a few things first to me so I can understand them.” Bobby was well aware he was sounding like how he would with the boys when he was telling them to do something and that also extended to Angela who did it to humor him. Still from experience it seemed to work and he could tell that the kid was starting to relent.

Kyros was well aware that he was automatically doing what he would do had his father had given an order. Even though it was taboo to give everything to complete strangers, deep down he knew he could trust Bobby Singer. The stories told about him were accurate and the picture that he had seen that was placed to hide it from prying eyes told him that he was a good man.

What the picture was, he couldn’t see. If he did, he would have seen it as a collage taken from the time of the tournament. There was an image of Angela facing off with Lykos on the scaffold, Sam fighting a shifted Lykos, Dean giving a punch to someone, the presentation of the Champion ceremony and a group shot of the trio with the head of the family Hakim and Alice as well as a couple of warriors that knew Angela. There was even one with Angela and Bobby together and they appeared happy. He would have been able to see the closeness much more clearly.

As it were, Kyros had his impressions of the man and he could tell by his tone of voice that he would help him but he needed answers first. Well his father broke tradition by having Uncle Mansour teach him guardian stuff. So hell he could continue breaking rules and from the looks of things, along with the hell hound, which was still visible, he could afford to spill the beans so to speak. He just hoped that it wouldn’t come to bite him in the ass. Most people who did know ended up getting hurt in the process. He sighed and replied, “Alright but you must understand, I inherited this and I think it is wrong but it is part of a prophecy and mostly the trust that my ancestor had/has in his old friend Absolution.”

Hearing the kid’s confusion in the reference to Jason had Bobby thinking about how it was possible. In the end it was confusing it was probably best to not think about it. He replied, “We’ve had a lot to deal with in terms of big stuff.”

“But this could be big in regards to the queen bitch and I don’t mean Tiamat,” Kyros replied.

Bobby narrowed his eyes slightly. “Ya mean that this has to do with Lilith?”

“Lilith is the queen bitch and Tiamat is one of her best seconds.” Kyros looked at Bobby before taking his backpack off his shoulder. He opened it and pulled out one of his books. He handed it over to the elder hunter and continued, “I read a lot and I know that Lilith is considered the first meaning she is the head bitch. Tiamat is the ‘goddess’ of chaos. Her abilities are ranked up there with the gods and some rumors have it that she may be an Ancient.”

Bobby held the book, almost dropping it when he heard the kid’s assessment. There was only one instance where the boys went up against an Ancient and it led to their girl suffering through a bout of poisoning. This was getting to be more complicated and the fact that she was blind literally even with the boys by her side… There was no doubt that they would be gunning for her. “Pack yer bags kid. We’re going on a road trip.”

****

“Sam, can you please put me down? I can run you know.”

Sam realized he was still holding onto Angela like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder. It was pure reaction and obedience to Dean’s urging that he grabbed her and slung her over his shoulders. It was the kind of action that normally would have her kicking to get free. He had stopped in an alley and put her down, “Sorry. Reflex reaction?”

Angela gave a hum as her feet touched the ground. She kind of figured that once she realized that she was not on the ground and that the shoulders belonged to Sam. She didn’t struggle since that would have been counterproductive to what they were trying to do… well what Sam was trying to do. “No worries,” she replied. She stopped a moment. “They’re still following us aren’t they?”

Sam turned his focus to what Angela was telling him. He let go of her to take a peek around the corner. Sure enough there were a couple of them coming. “Looks like we were followed.”

“Okay. Give me the number and let’s get with the ass kicking,” Angela said as she adjusted her grip on the cane.

“Seriously?” Sam looked back at Angela. He didn’t doubt she could fight but now was not really the time to fight off a life and death situation. “Angie I don’t think it’s a good time to… uh…”

“It’s just you and me Sam. What else are we going to do? I could call for Cerebus but I haven’t tried it from that great a distance yet,” Angela replied. It was frustrating to look at Sam but not see him since most of the time she knew she spoke with her eyes.

“Call Cerebus?”

“Yeah. I’ve been working on trying to summon him. It’s a 50-50 chance he’ll make it on time but the point is I can’t rely on that even if he is a hell hound.”

Sam peeked around the corner. It wasn’t two it was three and one of them was the ass that started this whole thing. “Well I guess it looks like we’re gonna have to fight no matter what. Why not just try whatever it is to get the mutt here?”

Angela sighed a little. It was just genuine worry and she got it. “Like I said 50-50 at this distance.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out something round and circular. It was the training wheels so to speak. Once Cerebus got the hang of it and responded to her whistle, she would not need it anymore.

It was specially made to summon a hell hound. It was old magic, very old magic that witches, demons and just about anyone who knew about the technique used when they wanted to summon a hell hound. It was primarily designed for humans to use and only if you had the balls to do it with. If you did it wrong, the hell hound could turn on you and you were the puppy chow. Luckily for Angela Cerebus was loyal to her. Well he probably considered her the alpha of his pack according to her readings so he would follow her everywhere.

Angela had the amulet once it became clear that Cerebus had every intention of coming if he got the hint that she was in trouble. She had been training him to respond to a specific call and it was baby steps. She managed to get a 80-20 success rate as far as Kansas. Now that they were somewhere out of Massachusetts… the odds decreased.

Pressing against the wall along with Sam, she held the amulet and began muttering in Latin. It activated the link. It was open and the second part was to send the call. At that moment though, they were found. “Thought you could hide?”

Angela couldn’t see anything but if she were able to, she would have seen the douche that grabbed Sam and gave him a punch across the face. She heard it and whirled towards the sound. She swung and made contact with something and heard the grunt. That was an encouragement as she stood ready. It was then she heard a new voice say, “Interesting. The reports said that you were injured but you seem to have compensated nicely.”

Angela turned to face the newcomer and replied, “Yeah I’m just full of surprises.” She then struck out at the douche that came towards her. She heard Sam grunting as he punched. No doubt he was trying to keep them from her but somehow that was going to be the least of his worries. “So you lead your rabble?”

There was laughter and then, “They are mine, yes. They have been charged with finding you Absolution. I must admit that I was surprised that there that many out there that had your basic description. Bloody sailor knew how to tell a story.”

Angela knew now that she was being hunted and that was just perfect. She was flying blind and because of who she was it now put her boys in danger. Why she ever thought being with them was a good thing she would never know and would continually ask herself. At the moment though she would fight and if she fell, it would be going down swinging. “I see that you know a sailor.”

“You know him too. One who not only sailed the known seas of the world but the seas of time as well. He returned with knowledge of the hidden world and the memory of a woman who gave him the courage to keep living even though he had just lost his children to the wrath of Medea. The one who kept hidden from me what is rightfully mine as a spoil of war…”

“And a very elaborate description that becomes boring after a while,” Angela interrupted. She had to give the call. Pursing her lips together, she let out a distinctive high pitched whistle.

“Whistling? You are about to be captured and you whistle?”

“I find that a diversion is necessary once in a while,” Angela replied. She gave the whistle again before using her cane to deliver a series of strikes to the douche that came her way. It seemed that there were more. That was just perfect and she was in a good mood that day. She twirled the cane like a staff and held it ready to attack. “Alright so what do you want?”

“You really don’t know do you?”

“I’ve been hunted for various reasons. Some I can name and others I can’t. So you tell me,” Angela replied. She moved her head slightly so she could discern and gauge the attack. No way was she going anywhere without a fight.

“Oh but I would rather have a nice little guessing game for you.”

Meanwhile Sam was struggling against the guys that came. It was like they kept popping out of nowhere. In fact there were more that showed up. How in the hell were they able to just pop out like that. He was holding up pretty good though since she taught him a few things but he was more concerned about the newcomer that showed up and was striking a conversation with Angela and it wasn’t the friendly kind.

The woman was tall like Angela with chocolate brown skin and dressed in suit like a headhunter businesswoman. She was smiling at Angela while talking to her and looking amused. Who the hell was she? He didn’t have much time to think since he was grabbed and pinned against the wall of the alley with a hard slam. He glanced over to see Angela holding her cane like she would a staff and she was glancing in his direction. He had no doubt she knew what was going on.

Sam looked back at the woman who was amused by Angela’s display. In fact she seemed amused that they had no clue as to why they were being attacked. Well they had some idea that they were after Angela but the reason drew a blank except for the connection that it had to do with Jason. He still was having trouble wrapping his head around the fact that he met the Jason that was supposed to be a myth.

Sam’s attention was then diverted to behind the mysterious woman. There were people decking it out with each other or arguing. At least that was what he could see down the alley. He frowned as he struggled. He was able to hear the comment about Angela guessing who the mystery woman was. He said, “I know who you are.”

Angela looked in Sam’s direction. She could hear the grunting and started towards him. She suddenly found her feet being lifted off the ground and she slammed into something that smelled remotely like garbage cans. “Sonofabitch,” was all that came out of her mouth along with, “You little hell bitch.” In retaliation she sent a blast in the direction it came from unaware that her fangs were bared.

Sam watched as it was dead on target and the mystery woman was flung back at an awkward angle. He had seen Angela throw a punch before but not when she was pissed and he meant seriously pissed. The woman was up though and saying, “Very impressive. Too bad that you don’t want to play my game.”

Sam said, “Wait. What is it that you want?”

The woman looked at him. She extended her hand and ended up pinning Angela to the wall in retaliation for that move. She looked at Sam a little more before advancing towards Angela. “You know I should have expected the two of you to be together. After all Absolution never goes anywhere without you Sammy or your brother Dean. Now you Sammy I intend to have fun with but for Absolution, it will be most entertaining for what is planned.” She advanced towards Angela with a malicious look, “And the poor dear can’t see a thing.”

Sam could guess the intention when the knife appeared. “No. Don’t.”

The mystery woman looked at Sam and grinned. “Don’t worry Sammy. This is special since I know someone who would like to see personally but they didn’t say that it had to be intact.” She turned with the knife upraised.

“Leave her alone!” Sam grunted against his captors. It was like being held by someone like Angela or a demon or something and there were roughly four of them. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to get free. “Angie!”

Mystery woman just grinned when all of a sudden something large tackled her and pummeled her to the ground. Sam frowned as he saw a dog the size of a Saint Bernard but it looked like a Rottweiler grab the knife hand and give a firm enough shake to let the knife drop. Was that Cerebus? Why could he see him?

There wasn’t much time to think about it that much since the mystery woman flung the dog aside and Sam saw the telltale signs of a demon. She was pissed and she was going to go crazy on them. She was stopped though when she staggered and grabbed her shoulder. Sam saw a young girl that was Haley’s coloring pointing a gun at her and talking in some strange language. The next he saw was the dog on its feet and it sprung forward and then there was a bright light and there was darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

Amunet figured she must have broken a half a dozen speeding laws to get to wherever this town was but she knew she was on a timeline. Since the rules had been changed regarding the separation of Keepers and guardians… that meant Tiamat and her side could change the rules. Uncle Mansour implied as much when he sent her on her way to meet up with Absolution.

How she knew where to find Absolution she had to thank a combination of a locator spell and her uncle’s ability to give precise directions while under pressure. Most people tended to freak out and if they got their directions in coordinates, then it was really a freaky thing. She was used to it though and spent time making up random coordinates and finding them. Some were interesting since she ended up in the middle of a lake of out in the middle of the desert.

That skill served her now as she raced towards the place that Uncle Mansour gave her. It was a town somewhere in Ohio and given that she had managed to get there within the span of a day driving all night and through most of the day to get there. It was a record and one she was sure others have made; a fine anecdote but hardly important in the grand scheme of things. So she kept her mind focused and toyed with the idea of calling Kyros.

In the end she decided against it. Her job was to protect the Keeper at all costs and even though the phones were clean, she would rather not risk it. Not even would she send a text message. She just had to pray that Kyros was safe.

“He will be safe with Bobby Singer.”

Amunet screamed at the sudden voice and the appearance of the woman in the driver seat. It took everything she knew about fast driving to keep the car on the road. She looked at the woman and swore, “Sonofabitch. What the hell?”

“I apologize. I forget that surprises can break concentration.”

“Never mind the Houdini act,” Amunet replied, “but who the hell are you?”

Isis gave a slight smile. For someone with a history extending back to the priesthood of the triumvirate temples of belonging to her, her husband and her son, they certainly were out of touch with appearances. Then again they never expected to physically see the gods. She replied, “I will overlook your outburst young one. I am the goddess Isis.” It just rolled out of her mouth just as easily as it did when she first appeared before her favorite daughter. It was a rather pleasant feeling and what she was doing was not in violation of the rules.

“You’re kidding? The goddess… _the_ goddess that is patron of the living dead as well as fertility and life; that goddess?” Amunet would have loved to stare but she had to keep her eyes on the road otherwise she would end up road kill.

“Yes I am that goddess. You look surprised child. Your lineage has served the triumvirate for over three thousand years.”

“And the only thing we have are the images on the walls of the pyramids and tombs,” Amunet countered. This was totally bizarre and she wondered if she was going crazy or not. “So why have you come?”

“You prayed of course. Your tattoo connects you to the Egyptian pantheon and to the temples,” Isis explained. “Your Keeper will be fine. I have it on good word that he made it to Bobby Singer. He will be looked after well.”

“Right. A guardian’s duty is to protect the Keeper and instead I am following Uncle Mansour’s order to go to some place in Ohio to help Absolution, the true guardian of the Eye. Not the best thing for me to do,” Amunet replied as she kept her speed ignoring the fact that she was sounding a bit rude to the goddess.

Isis didn’t mind. The girl was performing a duty that broke with tradition to the duties she had been taught and have been taught since the beginning. Paulo, Mansour and the others knew that they had been betrayed and had made provisions. It marveled her how well humans adapted to circumstances and tried to work their way through them. She said, “Absolution is as much a victim in this as your family and the Keeper’s family.”

“Yeah but from what I hear she is pretty good at keeping out of trouble.”

“True but those in stories are of a time when she traveled alone.”

“Yeah I know. She travels with the Champion and his brother the Slayer of Demons. I’ve heard the stories and I saw the Champion achieve victory,” Amunet replied. “That really doesn’t explain why she needs my help. I would just be deadweight.” She made a correction as she followed the bend in the road.

“Everything has a purpose young one. The time of the Keepers and guardians is coming to an end. Absolution’s time will come,” Isis replied. She knew that it tended to annoy humans when riddles were spoken. Some had more patience than others and she was instantly reminded of a time when her favorite daughter and her companions were trying to solve a riddle on one of their hunts. The boy she had visited in heaven was much more patient than his brother and her daughter was the wild card as the expression went and yet the three of them worked well together.

“Our time is coming to an end? You mean the passing of the Eye to Absolution,” Amunet confirmed. “Well that is obvious but still why do I need to help Absolution?”

“Surely you are aware that there is a new being that escaped from the underworld?”

“A lot of them escaped,” Amunet replied in sarcasm as she made the turnoff to the highway she needed. “That’s nothing new and from what the hunters say, it’s the Winchester’s fault.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Why ask me?”

“You met the Champion and you’ve seen his brother. I am curious as to your opinion.”

Amunet glared at the road ahead. What she thought didn’t matter. Truth was, if it hadn’t been for the Winchesters more would have escaped and they would have been in deeper shit than they were now. “Irrelevant at the moment. What does this have to do with Absolution?”

“The clan that has been persecuting you is friends with this new demon,” Isis replied, “Lilith is after Absolution. For what, it is not known but she wants Absolution and she wants the youngest Winchester dead.”

“Not my problem.”

“It is young one. If the Eye is not delivered to Absolution and Tiamat prevented from handing them over, then things would spell doubly worse than they are now. Sort of like being put at a tiger’s mercy once released from the cage.”

Amunet grumbled slightly. She had to hand it to the metaphors and the like. “So Tiamat and this Lilith are working together? That still doesn’t explain why you need me. It sounds like I am not worth much.”

“You are descendant from the priesthood. You have powers that can easily counter Tiamat. She is the bigger threat at the moment. You are aware that her following gives her power even though she is not a god.”

“Heard the story. Okay I get the fact that she’s in trouble with Tiamat. So let me drive and get there.”

“I think I can help get you there faster,” Isis replied. It wasn’t against the rules of interference if she gave a helping hand. Amunet was special and while she fed her the story of helping Absolution, it was a means to develop her own powers. She would have a role to play later in the events to come.

“What do you mean?”

“Stop the car.”

“What?”

“Stop.”

Amunet thought the goddess was crazy. She stopped however and let the engine idle. “There. I stopped. Now do you mind telling me why you had me stop? I’m going to lose time in getting to Ohio since you want me to get there so badly.”

“Sarcasm is not your strong suit. Perhaps a few lessons from Absolution would help,” Isis replied after she glanced at the girl. She then held up her hands in a posture and faced forward. She closed her eyes and began chanting in the language of her people.

Amunet sat there and watched the goddess work her mojo. She wanted to say something but decided against it and just sat there and watched. The chanting continued and then a flash occurred and Amunet found herself sitting in her car in the middle of some town probably in the middle of nowhere. She looked around and thought, _Perfect. Now I am totally lost._

She got out of her car and started to look around. That was after she made sure she had her gun and other supplies in her bag. She hated leaving her new baby behind but she couldn’t take it with her. She put the strap over her shoulder and started walking around. She found that she was in the town she was supposed to be in but what was happening had her puzzled. The town was real but the actions of the people were something else.

The people were acting like humans would but they were getting angry over stupid stuff. She noticed traffic lights flashing like Christmas lights. Car alarms and car horns honking along with the swearing and looting… Amunet knew that Tiamat was around. They didn’t call her the goddess of chaos for nothing. That meant that if Tiamat was here, then she was on the trail of Absolution and that spurred Amunet to hurry.

The chaos was what it was as Amunet walked looking around. It seemed that people with gentle dispositions were turning into bullies and those that were usually dicks were turning into meek lambs. That was only a small part of it though. It was more like the city that never sleeps but ten times more. She had little idea though that it was similar to what rage demons did except in this case there was nobody going postal and that was a good thing.

It was then that she heard barking and growling. Amunet rolled her eyes. There were dogs about and whatever influence they were under would go with their pure instinct. That would just make her day all peachy. She rounded a corner and came across an alleyway and found the source of the barking and boy was she surprised.

It was a huge dog and all black. She had never seen a dog that huge before and yet she could sense that it wasn’t your normal canine. It had distracted Tiamat from going after a woman who had been pinned to the wall. She had dark hard and was wearing dark glasses. There was another… it was the Champion and he was being held by Tiamat’s thugs. So that meant the woman was Absolution.

Amunet watched Tiamat growl in pain and frustration as she wrestled with the dog. It was surprising when the demon grabbed the dog and threw him hard. It would have been enough to kill a normal animal. Instinctively Amunet reached for her gun and aimed. She fired and was pleased that it hit and hurt the demon bitch. Of course it would since she knew what was painful to them.

When the demon turned, Amunet spoke in the ancient Egyptian language, “You are becoming bold Tiamat.”

Tiamat grinned in reply and said in the same language, “As well as you are Guardian. I heard you escaped your confinement. Very impressive.”

“Amazing what learning a few tricks gets you. Now release them right now or I’ll pull the trigger,” Amunet advanced and was ready to fire. She wouldn’t hesitate to fire on the itch. Hell if she made a statement, they would be left alone.

Tiamat replied in laughter, “Not when there is a chance to get what I have been hunting for.”

At that moment, the huge dog bounded forward and Amunet started a charge when there was a blinding light. Amunet shielded her eyes until it passed. When she lowered her arms there was no one in sight except for the woman and the huge dog staring at her and growling low in his throat. _Great now I have to face Cujo and the Champion has been taken. Perfect._

****

Dean thought he got it easy with a few knocks to the head but each one did hurt like hell and they weren’t the kind of punches thrown by humans either… at least that was what he thought. Or they could be guys that were suffering an extreme bout of road rage. That usually could be the case and probably wouldn’t faze him in the least since he had gone against things that were much worse.

At least Sam listened to him when he told him to take Angela and run. He meant to grab her by the arm and pull her along though to see his brother sling her over his shoulder was a big surprise. If they weren’t in a precarious situation, it would have made for a good picture for the books since he was sure that she would have kicked Sam’s ass by the time he set her down.

Of course that left him to fend for himself and he managed to do the best thing that he could do. He swung a few punches and when he was clear, he took off running. He had the idea to hook up with them later once they lost them or something. He took blind turns hoping that it would cause confusion but he ended up running into it.

He bumped into a lady that looked like a librarian. He apologized but she insisted on trying to swat at him with her book bag. He managed to evade her and rounded another corner. He saw people fighting and arguing and while there was nothing completely unusual about it, he could see that even simple transactions were being carried out by yelling and fists in the mouth. It was like chaos came in to stay.

Of course in the end he was ambushed by more of those guys and rammed into a wall. It winded him but he didn’t give up without a fight. That was until he felt the hit to the back of the head and he saw black. He woke up in a dimly lit place and he was sitting in a chair tightly bound and he discovered the chair was bound or rooted to the ground. He grunted as he tried to wriggle his hands trying to see if he could slip his ties. The rope tying him was tight but he was confident that he could do it since he had done it before.

“Dean?”

Dean paused I what he was doing to peer in the direction the voice was coming from. “Sam?”

Sam tossed his head to look around and blinked. That bright light had been blinding when it flashed and he was seeing spots. He could understand how she felt even though she blinded herself in the Morton House. Also her eyes were much more sensitive… at least he thought so.

The last thing he saw was that strange girl talking to the demon he presumed was Tiamat. Briefly he wondered who she was. Clearly she didn’t think much of the demon and she looked like a hunter. Now he was here in this place and he had no idea where but the grunting told him that he wasn’t alone. In fact he would recognize it from anywhere and called his brother’s name. It was a comfort to hear his own name even though he couldn’t see Dean. He replied, “I’m here. You okay?”

“Just peachy. I’m relaxing and enjoying a cold one,” Dean let out in sarcasm. He had been trying to wriggle and it was proving to be a futile and exhausting effort.

Sam tossed a bitch face in Dean’s direction. “Thought you had it covered.”

“I did, bitch,” Dean replied. “You’re the one who actually listened for once and grabbed Angie and ran.”

“She could have handled it though. She’s not helpless,” Sam replied as he tugged against his bonds. They were pretty tight and it looked like it was going to be a hell of a time trying to pick the knots out.

“She was when you carrying her out fireman style. I’m surprised she didn’t kick your ass for that.”

Sam for once was glad that his brother couldn’t see him blush. He knew she wasn’t going to hold it against him for doing that. Hell he was pretty sure that was how she carried them from the car to the motel when they were both passed out from injury and blood loss. It was just now that he thought about it… he could see where Dean’s mind was going. “She understands.”

“Well she does have a good grip once she gets the jump on you.”

“Can you focus?” Sam struggled against his ropes. “How tight are you tied?”

“Always knew you had a wild side to ya Sammy,” Dean grinned.

“Dean.”

“Alright don’t get your boxers in a twist. They tied me to the chair and the chair is either bolted or tied to something else. Same for you?” Dean got to business after teasing Sam a little. He could hear the bitch face turning into full on grade double A. It was too easy when it came to Sam. He did give his info and thought maybe it was too much to hope that they tied his brother differently.

“Feels that way here,” Sam replied as he grunted.

“Well that’s just swell. At least they lumped me in the same category as you Sasquatch. The whole overkill because you’re freakishly huge.”

“And you’re third world ugly, jerk.”

Dean wanted to chuckle. Sam could give it as good as he had it but there was the once in a while thing where he surprised him with something that was Dean worthy. It was on par with Angela quoting directly from Casa Erotica. That would never get old with him. “Keep em coming Sammy. So you got any idea who has us tied up like a present?”

Sam stopped struggling and took a moment to look at their surroundings. The room was dimly lit with torches and candles. A Dean worthy comment was threatening on his tongue but he bit it back as he looked around. He couldn’t see Dean since he was in shadow but he could make out some images on the wall that if you looked at it in a certain way, they seemed to move and jump out at you. There was one that he did recognize and that was because he had paid attention to the images Akira sent. He looked in Dean’s direction, “I can give you one guess.”

Dean paused a moment as he figured it out, “That ugly demon bitch?”

“Yep. Tiamat,” Sam replied. He could wriggle his fingers a little but it wasn’t enough. He could barely work then up to reach the knot.

“No wonder there were people acting crazy over nothing. At least they weren’t going postal,” Dean replied as he remembered that case in Wyoming. That was just bad memories all around and he still wondered how she was able to forgive him so easily for it. “That would just really ruin my day,” he grumbled.

“Comparing me to my more volatile cousins is hardly flattering but it is impressive that you noticed.” There was some laughter as the woman Sam saw in the alley stepped into the circle of light that just appeared.

Sam narrowed his eyes and made a grim line with his lips. “Tiamat.”

Tiamat looked at Sam and gave a small laugh, “Very good Sammy. I had a good feeling about you; that you were not just the tough Champion that the grapevine has been spilling.” As she walked, the light illuminated wherever she went. She walked right up to Sam and put her face close to his to look at him. “Hmm. You look even better in person. I can see now why she likes you.”

“Yeah and I’m sure she’d like your ass after she ganked it you ugly ass bitch,” Dean replied knowing that the demon was referring to Angela. How much the bitch knew, he had no idea and he found that he didn’t want that bag of cats let out.

Tiamat turned to look in the direction of Dean, “And here I thought you liked working with my kind.”

“What do you want?” Sam took the opportunity to distract attention away from Dean.

Tiamat turned her attention back to Sam to peer into his face. She studied him for a moment as he glared at her. “Mmm I want what I have been searching for three thousand years. I was patient in waiting and then I let the chaos begin.” She stepped back and gave a flare with her hands. She then turned to walk towards Dean. “Soon I will have the Eye because I have something valuable.”

“No way,” Sam replied as he struggled against his bonds. “Not gonna happen.”

Tiamat turned to look at Sam. “You really are quick on the trigger. Yes it will happen and the ending will be… delightful and chaotic.”

“What is this bitch talking about?” Dean glared at Tiamat even though she was looking at Sam.

Tiamat turned to look at Dean. She liked him a lot. He was much like Memnet’s best pupil. More about action but in the end he could surprise you with an original thought every now and then. She grinned, “You really disappoint me Dean. For a hunter of supreme lineage I’m surprised you couldn’t even guess what your brother just did. Very disappointing.”

“Yeah well, we’re not all college geeks like that nerd over there.”

“No but your lineage should have taught you otherwise.” Tiamat dropped her smile and started towards the exit. “Get comfortable boys since you’re going to be with us a while and when the time comes… it will be an even to remember.” She cast a look at the two brothers before leaving.

“Yeah and I look forward to it since she’ll kick your ass,” Dean shouted.

“That’s what she wants Dean.” Sam started wriggling, trying to stretch the ropes. He had to get free.

“What are you talking about Sam? You two have been talking in code or something.”

“The demon has been planning this from the beginning. She waited to draw out the Eye so that it would make its way to Angie.”

“Okay I see that.”

“Dean, the demon is going to use us to get the Eye.”

“That’s nothing new Sam. We’re like a magnet for this fate of the world stuff even more so when Angie hooked up with…” It then dawned on Dean what Sam was getting at

“Tiamat knows that Angie will do anything for us. We know that.”

Dean knew that Sam had a point but he knew Angela better than that. “No she won’t. She won’t give up a powerful artifact like that just for us. Yeah we are family but not for something like this. She’s come up with a plan to get us out and gank that bitch.”

“Dean, she stuck her wrist in a vamp’s mouth and nearly bled to death to keep it from trying to kill me. She saved your ass from being skewered. Right now she’s out there alone and she can’t see.” Sam paused a moment. He knew she wouldn’t do anything to hurt them but she was like them in many ways. The difference though was that she still had the tendency to think her life wasn’t that important. “If it meant that her death would keep us alive, she would do it.”

“Hey. She’s not stupid. She’s better than that.”

“I know that too Dean. She promised me and I hope that she remembers that.”


	15. Chapter 15

“You’re a good boy aren’t ya Cerebus?”

“That is really creepy.”

Angela kept rubbing Cerebus’ head. She was surprised that her call to him worked. It took a little longer than she would have liked but it worked. She was surprised that she could feel the fur that was as fine as it was. She ran her fingers along the mutt and discovered that he was huge and from her standpoint, probably an abnormally large Rottweiler. It was no wonder that the girl with her was disturbed by the whole thing.

After Tiamat did her thing and she discovered that Sam was gone, it took everything within her power to not freak out at that and start on a campaign to summon demons and holy hell. It felt worse because she felt helpless without her sight. However she told herself that this was a moment to put the strengths that everyone said she had to the test. It was a small comfort when Cerebus came to her after she heard him growling at the girl that came into the alley.

Looking in the direction of the girl while petting Cerebus, Angela replied, “I can imagine it is. Few people have ever been able to see a hell hound. I am suspicious though that this handsome devil changed his appearance for appearance’s sake.” She gave a hard rub to Cerebus’ head.

“That is a hell hound?”

Angela chuckled, “Yes he is. His name is Cerebus.” She stood up and felt around for her cane. She found it and stood facing the direction of the girl. “Thank you for coming when you did. I admit that I haven’t heard a verbal threat issued in the language of the goddess in years.”

“You… know that language?”

Angela chuckled, “I know quite a few. Now I assume you have a name. I’m Angela.” She held out her hand.

“Amunet.” Amunet took the proffered hand. She had been surprised when the dog backed off once he noticed the woman. “So you’re Absolution?”

“I wield Absolution,” Angela corrected, “and he’s probably pissed that I left him in the car again. Do you think you can help me find it?”

Amunet gave a look which was a bonus since Angela couldn’t see. She agreed though and was thoroughly surprised when they found the ’67 Impala. She was a beauty and she couldn’t help but drool much to the entertainment of Angela. It was even more surprising when the woman offered the keys to her and a warning that she better not scratch her otherwise there would be hell to pay.

At that moment a cell phone rang and Angela answered, “This is Angela.”

Amunet watched as Angela conversed with the person that she was talking to. She took a moment to look at the hell hound looking at her. She had heard of the beasts of hell that were known for tearing bodies to shreds and dragging souls down to the darkest places of the underworld. They were vicious and had nasty looking claws. Here she was seeing one abnormally large dog and he had unusual eyes that were glittering like those old cheap movies.

“I’m fine. Yes that was me that called him. Yes I know about his appearance.” Angela turned while making a face at nothing. “Bobby I felt it. How was I supposed to know that he could do that?”

Amunet glanced at Angela as she was talking to whoever it was and then back at the dog. “So you like to cause trouble on all sides?”

The response was Cerebus lolling his tongue in a panting fashion and he looked at her. It was like he was smiling at her as if he were pleased. Amunet had no idea who she got involved with. She looked over at Angela who was still talking.

Angela had been listening to Bobby rant a little bit before saying, “Bobby, we were in trouble and it was the only thing I could think of. You know I have been practicing.”

_Did ya know that the Houdini act nearly ran us off the road?_

“Like I was supposed to know you are on the road. Who are you with?”

_Some kid called Kyros and he knows a bit about you. Angie, he has the Eye and he says that they are after you._

“Yeah they came for us. That was why I called Cerebus. Bobby, they took Sam and I am sure they have Dean,” Angela replied in a near whisper. It was loud enough for Bobby to hear but not loud enough for an eavesdropper.

_Okay then but what about you?_

“I’m fine,” Angela replied. “Look, Amunet and I are heading back to the motel in ah… Littleton, Ohio. Sunset motel.” She looked around and it was frustration but also a relief that she couldn’t see anything. At least there was nothing to trigger an emotional response visually. The other senses were up for grabs.

_Amunet?_

“Girl that came and rescued me. She’s on our side.”

_Alright then. We’ll be there._

Angela waited until Bobby hung up before looking at Amunet who was talking to Cerebus. She could tell that it was an interesting conversation given that she could hear Cerebus give a rumble every now and then while he was panting like a dog. “Amunet, can you drive to the Sunset?”

Amunet looked up towards Angela. She had to admit that she didn’t expect this from Absolution but then again sometimes stories did tend to exaggerate certain things. She certainly didn’t expect her to be blind. That was one detail they left out. She replied, “Yeah I can.”

“Good. Just don’t scratch her.”

“You’re the boss.”

****

Tiamat looked around at the digs that she had set up shop in. Even though the weather sucked like hell, she had a thing for New England states. Mostly it was because she appreciated the whole rich and aristocratic culture that was brought over from England. She eyed the furniture that had been bought to make a room but also so she could have a comfortable place to enjoy herself.

Three thousand years of patient waiting and teasing the Keepers so they would move the Eye… Her patience was about to pay off. Her master had told her that sometimes you had to wait until it came to who it was supposed to go to and then you can grab a bigger prize. Well certainly she was going to grab a bigger prize and gain favor. Well she had favor since the beginning.

Tiamat looked at the room that resembled a New England study. She was Babylonian in her origins according to the humans but she was rather accommodating of her tastes just as long as they were the finer things in life. She picked up the wine glass that had been poured and took a sip and relished the taste that exploded on her tongue as she stared out the window. She relished the feeling that was stretched across this place.

As the queen of chaos, she enjoyed the sheer helplessness mortals had when their world was turned upside down. From chaos came order. How that order came about, she didn’t care. She did often have more fun with the dictators and terrorists. The most fun though was when she had free reign over her corner of the world and battles. She loved battles especially the area she was overlooking right now.

The battle of Gettysburg was considered the bloodiest of all the battles ever fought during the Civil War. The simplest explanation was always that battle was chaos. She found it to be intricate. Sure there was the macho crap between men but the emotions, the primal instinct; that was like a savory piece of meat that was all nice and tender. It was certainly was a nice place for a pick me up aside from the various worshippers giving her that godlike status.

The Eye of Horus was a part of a memory of that battle with that bloody goddess’ son. He was a part of order to stop her fine work and she was pissed. He certainly paid the price but he had to hand it to the bloody humans to take and hide from her. It was her trophy to victory and they kept it from her all because his energy created an object of healing and power.

Then there were the prophecies about Absolution. The one being that was capable of taking on the old ones. The one being that was considered a beauty beyond reckoning. Tiamat had yet to see the beauty but then again Memnet’s men were always a bit overzealous in their testing of the potentials. Well there was no doubt as to who she was. It was all a game and when her master gave her the signal that it was time… She started the plan that had been developed since… well she couldn’t remember since it wasn’t that important.

The clock chimed the hour. Tiamat took a final sip and sighed. Well she had to obey even if she was given a free reign on things. No one crossed the master unless they wanted to take a long walk off a short pier as the human expression went. Then again no one liked to cross her either since she was just as bad but she learned from the best.

She put down the glass and walked over to where the elaborate altar was set up. The altar cloth she gave a sneer at. It was a crude one that was hastily made after the last one had been stolen. By whom she had no idea and she had been pissed about it for days on end while a new one was being made. She recalled having a few minions scramble around for their innards when she was in a temper.

That had been fun and it assuaged her anger. She may never find out who stole it but she had an idea of where it was going. It was no secret that her master had a long list of people that were pissed and would like to see her dead. However they made no move because they were cowards and didn’t want to die trying especially after the last couple of hunters that attempted it.

Tiamat brushed that aside as she stared at the chalice full of the familiar crimson liquid that was used in so many rituals. With her index finger, she swirled it around and muttered the incantation in Latin. After nearly three thousand years, she had no accent but could easily slip into one when she spoke the languages required for rituals. It was flawless and perfect.

She knew she got a response and looked down in the swirling liquid with a slight smile and said, “Yes. I have them both and they are having good quality time in chaos.”

The burbling form the liquid was the reply.

“Yes they have been restrained for the moment. I recalled our last conversation about them.”

The whispers and burbling sounded fiercer as it ‘talked.’

Tiamat resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wouldn’t have mattered since it was a phone call. “Even if they got the ropes undone they still have a few more obstacles to deal with. You know Chaos is my game and that can encompass anything that hits deep down into the soul of things.”

The whispers tempered a bit. They seemed to be mollified that Tiamat knew what she was doing.

Tiamat smiled in response in that feral smile she got when she was about to enjoy a tasty hunt. “Yes. They seem pretty sure about her. Yes, I will make sure that they are not harmed since I know that you would like a little time with them.”

The whispers sounded soothing and seductive.

“Of course master,” Tiamat replied with her usual type of sincerity, “The Eye makes a good bargaining chip. It is made even more delicious that she is compromised in one of her senses. It should make things interesting.”

The conversation carried on a few more minutes while Tiamat assuaged her master and informed them of their progress. It ended on a pleasant note in that the customary threats were not issued except the one that Tiamat was to find whoever stole the altar cloth and give them a good skinning of the sorts. That was the sort of parting shot Tiamat would have given in a similar circumstance.

It was just an ordinary altar cloth but it was a special one. It was sort of a guarantee that the master would make her appearance if the summons was done correctly and the like. It was also very old in that it was antique old. Whoever stole it knew this and they tried setting it up so that the original would go unnoticed for a period of time. It was very clever.

However at the moment, Tiamat was not going to go too much into that. Right now she had to get something. After all if Absolution was going to trade, and she knew that she would, she would need to set up the meeting place. Home field advantage was best in any rulebook. So it was just a matter of providing a location and what she needed to bring in order to get them all in the same place. So what if it was early?

Tiamat glanced out the window. She really had a good view of the old battlefield. She could just visualize the whole thing. She had been there of course when it happened but it still never failed to put one of those tingly feelings down her spine. There were other places like it across this country and she could have easily chosen them. This one though would always have a special meaning to her though. This was the place where she not only encouraged the bloodshed that occurred. No, this was the place where she met him.

Remembering that day Tiamat gave a slight pouting sigh. So much time had passed since then. And yet some things never changed. She gave a slight smile and hummed, “You used to be better at this.” She turned to face the intruder. “How nice of you to pay a visit… Faisal.”

Faisal stood there looking at the demon who was revered as a god and gave a firm glance. He had long given up trying to be nice about things. He replied, “Hardly a social call Tiamat. Rather it is more of a warning.”

Tiamat paused a moment to take in her visitor’s appearance. Faisal still had a thing for the old fashions. He still looked like a nobleman in the dress pants and shirt. His blazer had a nice collar sticking out of it and complimented the look he wore well. He never got rid of the mullet look and she itched to run her fingers through them again. She replied, “Really? And just what are you warning me against dear Faisal? Are you planning on trying to finish me? You know you can’t destroy Chaos.”

“No,” Faisal replied. Old habit let his abnormally sharp canines show through while he talked. “Of course Chaos can’t be destroyed but order can be brought to it and even then there are different means of obtaining order.”

“Still up for the old word games,” Tiamat replied with a laugh. “I see eternity has given you the bare hints of humor. It’s what made you so delicious to play with back then.”

“It was fighting for an ideal. Then I met you and the game changed. Most of us learn the hard way that one can’t really retire from the life.”

“Easy for you to say. You have eternity to come up with your philosophy. Now cutting the politeness out, I am getting to the point: It’s going to happen one way or another. The deal will go through and the first will be done.”

“I am not denying that the deal will come due. They always do even though your adversary has one up on you,” Faisal replied. “That is my warning Tiamat. Do not test her or there will be worse consequences than an accidental death on her part.” His teeth clicked to verify the warning.

“If you are referring to that mess that occurred before…”

“The others are right to fear that,” Faisal interrupted. “There is a reason things are the way they are and because you and your bitch and the rest of hell’s bitches have interfered on some level, it will not be in your favor. That is a fact.”

Tiamat couldn’t help but laugh at him. “And you think you know everything? Your clan has nearly died out and have been scattered to the winds. The others see you as a recluse. You are but one that stands alone. Don’t tell me you believe in those fairy tales.”

“It doesn’t matter what I believe. I know that if you force the choice on her it will be on your head,” Faisal replied as he pointed at the demon. “They say Absolution is a lifting of a burden. That in of itself has many meanings.”

“Just as much as Chaos.”

Faisal looked at Tiamat. She clearly hadn’t changed much. He didn’t underestimate her capabilities though. He learned that the hard way and now he was paying the price since he knew she knew about her from back then too. “But unlike Chaos, Absolution’s verdict is final.”

“If you weren’t of the lineage I knew you were to be then I would be thinking that you were scheming against you know who,” Tiamat replied with a coy smile.

“Tis a good thing that you have a suspicious mind. I have given my warning Tiamat. True balance has yet to be achieved and the beast has already caused quite a bit of damage. Don’t bother calling for your pets. I know my way out.”

Tiamat watched as he disappeared with that flourish comparable to some of the high level demons. If he was showing up, that meant he knew something. It also meant that things would probably not go as smoothly as her master would like. She hurried down the stairs feeling the sudden need to check upon her two guests.

****

Crowley paced outside the building he had been told to wait by with an air of impatience. How in the hell was it that these things knew how to summon him? This was bad for business since he was already his sweetheart’s bitch for this duration.

“You stayed put. Good.”

Crowley turned to see Faisal standing behind him looking nonplussed about popping in and out. He growled, “I’m not a bloody dog.”

“Right because clearly you are her bitch,” Faisal countered. His gaze was like steel as he eyed the demon. It was a full second before he continued, “So what do you have?”

“You know about as much as I do sweet thing. Tiamat has been waiting until the signal was given and then she jumpstarted this shebang. Everyone is talking about it.”

“Cary?”

“Still haven’t located him,” Crowley grumbled. He wasn’t too concerned about the worm but he did have valuable information on his sweetheart. Some of it he would rather keep to himself and make sure that Cary didn’t blab about it either. Of course that was nigh impossible since he was now missing and the culprit pointed to Lilith.

“Looks like Lilith is using him,” Faisal replied as he looked around. So far no one noticed his presence or Crowley’s. His impromptu visit to Tiamat was a risk but he had to tell her to back off. Lilith was going to bit of more than she could chew on this one and it didn’t matter that she was the queen bitch. “Cary will tell her how to get Absolution to cooperate.”

“Any idiot can see that,” Crowley replied, “You know for a progenitor you really seem a bit slow in seeing the obvious. Or you have just become really good at following her. Take your pick. Anyone who knows something knows that they only have to do something to the Winchester boys and they will get what they want.”

“And Absolution values life and it makes her soft.”

“I agree but then again I like it since she shows her true nature more often. It’s rather cute to watch especially considering how hard she is fighting to set up summoning Lilith.”

Faisal looked at Crowley. He wasn’t sure if he heard right or not. He narrowed his eyes as he raised a brow, “Absolution plans to summon Lilith?”

“Oh yes. Summon Queen Bitch all for one lousy contract and then kill her for it. At least she now knows more about making and breaking deals. If she weren’t such a goody two shoe she would make a perfect dealer.”

“So stealing the altar cloth from Tiamat was to help Absolution?”

“Great personal risk and I didn’t even get a kiss from it.” Crowley grinned somewhat. It sounded pouty but in truth he enjoyed catching his… companion off guard. Few were able to successfully do that. “Of course a kiss usually means that a deal is made so I doubt she would have been receptive to that even if no terms were negotiated. Who would have thought the selfless Absolution would cross the road to summon a demon for a contract and then make new terms?”

“You taught her didn’t you?”

“If you want to learn the best, you have to learn from the master or in this case the King of the Crossroads.” Crowley spread his arms to show himself off. He really did hate the brooding type and Faisal was looking more like the moose that passed for Dean’s brother. He scoffed slightly, “You know there is the loophole so to speak about your kind well all our kinds. You get the picture. I merely gave her more than she needed to know.”

“And possibly sent her on a course to darken her soul.”

“Well you weren’t so particular about finding a means to teach her how to toughen herself up sweet thing,” Crowley replied. “Angela will do this no matter what anyone says. Why, I can only guess, but the only option is one that will occur after Dean takes a trip downstairs.”

Faisal listened to Crowley’s words. He had trouble believing that she would stop to the point of learning the intricacies of deal making. While he had to admit that it was a sound idea and logical one too, he found that it was damaging.

He had been following her since the incident in Monument and even before that. He had kept tabs on the events that had occurred in various towns and eliminated them based upon what occurred until he picked up her trail and then started following. It had been a long time since he had seen a dhampir accomplish so much and that was without tapping into the reservoir that was inside of her and her blood.

Faisal’s warning to Tiamat was what it was. It was a warning. He knew that this would only lead to something that would be difficult to stop. He looked at Crowley and replied, “Thank you. You may go.”

“What? No parting thanks in how I practically gave you what you asked for?”

“You have done enough Crowley. We all deal with the devil at some point. This was my chance and now I am going to make sure that things go as they are supposed to.” Faisal started walking at a fast pace leaving Crowley to look behind him.

Crowley watched Faisal depart. There was something about the guy that just irritated people with the whole interfering with the way things were and are and meant to be. The guy was obsessed with Fate and would do what he had to in order to make it happen. A part of the demon wondered if he should warn his sweetheart to expect a probable visitor. Then again he decided against it. A surprise every now and again worked wonders.


	16. Chapter 16

“So this is the Eye?” Angela ran her fingers along the contours of the box the amulet was in. She didn’t bother to touch it yet since she was trying to take in everything.

Kyros sat on the bed looking at Angela with a curious expression. She fit the painting that he had but she seemed off. He figured it was the fact that she was wearing dark glasses and it was revealed that she couldn’t see. It was a blow to him but when it was explained to him, it assuaged him somewhat. However he got the feeling that things would probably only get worse.

Seeing that she was waiting for an answer, he replied, “Yes. It is the Eye of Horus as it was passed down through my family.”

Angela held the box and nodded politely. It took some time but Bobby showed up in record time and driving Deanna instead of his Chevelle. His reasoning was that Deanna was better maintained and there was the guarantee that she wouldn’t break down if they needed to do some rough and dirty. She accepted that and was surprised that he came with company and he knew her newest companion.

As she found out, Kyros was the Keeper and Amunet was the guardian and they both explained how it worked in protecting and keeping the Eye secret from Tiamat’s forces. Bobby supplied that supposedly the amulet held great power and it was no wonder that the demon aka goddess of chaos wanted it. She let out a rather unladylike sound which would have amused Dean. “So I am guessing that some soothsayer saw that I would be the one to receive this?”

“That’s what the stories say,” Kyros replied.

“And the hits just keep on coming,” Angela muttered. She stood up and started pacing.

Bobby watched as Angela began pacing in the room. He was impressed that she had worked out enough how to see without seeing. He was grateful that Rufus looked after her before he split by her insistence. Judging by how that idjit talked, it seemed that his girl worked her magic again and just wormed her way in. He knew that he had been a hard ass on this finding Cary but looking at it, maybe it was still an idjit plan but he didn’t have to treat her like a leper over it.

Kyros watched as Angela paced the area of the room. He held the box and said, “Well it’s time it went to you.” He cradled it to make sure that it didn’t fall out or something like that. It was the second time the box came out of the backpack.

“I’m not taking it.”

Kyros looked wide eyed at Angela, “But… you have to take it.”

Angela looked in the direction of Kyros. If she could see, she would have seen the look of shock on his face. There were some things that stories never told. She repeated, “I am not taking it. I am not taking on someone else’s burden.”

“And do you think we asked for this?” Kyros motioned between him and Amunet. He stared incredulously at Angela. He thought Absolution was one of the honorable types that did the right thing for the greater good.

“No one ever asks for their burdens when the fate of humanity is at stake,” Angela countered as she leaned forward. “I certainly didn’t ask for my duty of bringing Absolution. No one asks for it. You end up being stuck with it and you learn to deal. So far you told me a story regarding an old friend of mine and your word that he was asking me to care for it.”

“What about the duty of doing the right thing?” Amunet looked at Angela. She couldn’t believe it herself. She thought Absolution was a warrior that took on any challenge.

“Are you trying to lecture me on duty?” Angela paused to see if there was a reply. There wasn’t since she had their attention. “You two are young and you’re human. I am over five hundred years old. I have seen and fought things that you have yet to see and have been to places that no man should have to walk. Doing the right thing? There is no black and white where I walk. I may be stuck with a duty but I do it my way and currently I only have two missions. One is to get back my boys and two… to save one of my boys from going to hell. So don’t try to lecture me on right and wrong.”

As she finished, Angela walked towards the door of the room. Her hand was on the handle when she gave a short whistle and Cerebus jumped up to follow as she left the room. Bobby looked at the two kids who were shocked. They had a bad case of hero worship regarding Angela and that was most heated speech he had ever heard coming from her. Usually she was quiet about her past dealings and he suspected there was a lot of baggage there. He took pity on the kids and said, “Don’t worry. Just a bad case of hero worship ya two have. Stay there.”

Kyros and Amunet watched as Bobby left to go after Angela. He looked at her and back at the door and said, “I am under the impression that we said the wrong thing.”

“What was your first guess?” Amunet looked at Kyros and then turned back to look at the duffle that they brought in. Curious she looked in it and found a whole bunch of weapons particularly the guns. “I thought Absolution was this mighty warrior.”

“I have no doubts about that Amunet.” Kyros reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small notebook. It was full of all the descriptions and translations regarding Absolution. He opened it to the part about her personality and read it. “I am a fool.”

“I would say she is if she doesn’t know her duty.”

“She does and always has.”

“Sure didn’t look like it.”

Kyros read the transcribed writings. He came across a part that he had overlooked and he inwardly called himself an idiot. They said he was smart but he could do stupid stuff. “What appears simple often has complexity,” he replied before pocketing the notebook and walking out the door but not before grabbing the Eye and putting it in the other pocket. You couldn’t be too careful.

Amunet watched Kyros leave and followed after grabbing her own gun and slipping it under her jacket. She still had her job to do. She followed closely as they caught up with Angela and Bobby. This was turning out to be more complicated than she thought.

****

“Ya know ya kind of laid it hard on them.”

“Not that much different from when I was their age.” Angela made herself comfortable on the trunk of Deanna. It felt good to just touch her again. She felt Cerebus nudge her leg before sitting down on the pavement. There was a rule after all. “It’s part of the life and Sam and Dean had that younger.”

Bobby came to stand beside her and he crossed his arms. “It’s just a case of hero worship. You know that what they heard are exaggerations.”

“And if it really were from Jason, he wouldn’t have told such lies about me. We were always honest about things.”

“This is more than just the whole fate thing and the Eye. Yer worried about the boys.”

“Great observation Bobby,” Angela replied, “You really should write a book.” The sarcasm was heavy and she knew it. The timing of this sucked and she really didn’t want to protect something that the other side wanted it bad enough. It felt like someone else’s problem was dumped on her shoulders and not by choice.

Dean’s problem was her choice. She took it upon herself to find the way and granted Bitch Ruby gave the first idea to her and the other she remembered when she first got involved with the other crap that led to _those_ times. This Eye thing was just another thing that was being thrust upon her.

“Don’t sass me girl. Just because yer blind don’t mean ya get a free pass on snark,” Bobby warned. “Now what really has yer dander up? The fact that the demon took them two idjits yer soft on?”

“You know me well Bobby,” Angela replied as she adjusted her tone. She knew Bobby didn’t deserve an attitude. She was grateful for his presence since it felt like she was getting a myriad of crap that she had to sort through and just when she thought she had it figured, someone came and tossed something else into the mix. “I am worried. The demon took Sam and left me there. It’s the truth that they are my weakness. The bad guys know that I would do just about anything…”

“And there are some things that we have stopped ya from doing like trading yer powers and becoming human to save Dean.”

“That was to get a hearing and… I was thinking about making the offer as an act of desperation.” Angela gave a wry smile at that. It was Dean insisting that she not trade her superpowers for him. She couldn’t quite understand why he would want her like the freaky girl that was in love with his brother. Being human was… safer and he didn’t know the toll that came emotionally. “But you know Dean made me promise not to do that kind of trade. Keeping my word I take very seriously.”

Bobby gave a hum in this throat. “I know that idjit. So really are you pissed at this whole Eye thing?”

“If Jason was given the Eye for a reason I could understand that but to give it to him just so it could pass on to me… sounds more like the destiny crap I was schooled in,” Angela replied staring straight ahead but leaned towards Bobby. “He would have at least said something so that I would know…” She trailed off thinking about what would her old friend say to get her used to the idea about looking after something she was sure was related to the goddess.

“Absolution was a friend in a world that was full of strange things. She taught me more about what existed and when I returned I was able to face them in my time. I was able to see the evil that sought one of the few things that is from the light. It is of faith in her that I hope she would accept the Eye and keep it safe from those that would use it and corrupt it. She knows them well.”

Angela listened to what was obviously from a story. She turned in the direction of the voice she recognized as Kyros and replied, “That sounds like Jason.”

Kyros ambled forward and replied, “It is from one of the private scrolls of my ancestor. I read everything about you and I overlooked this part. I take it he understood many things like your feelings about duty.”

“He did and he learned a few things from me. I am sorry for bringing that much trouble to you.” Angela allowed a slight smile. “I usually bring trouble and I still wonder why Sam and Dean hang around me still.”

“Shut up idjit. You know why,” Bobby retorted.

“Okay I do but I don’t understand why you want to risk it.”

Bobby was saved from answering when Angela’s cell phone rang. She made a slight face at the ring tone since she programmed different rings for different callers. This was one she did to tease Dean with but it was an indicator for Sam’s phone. She pulled it out and with ease, flipped it open and said, “Sam?”

_Wrong guess._

Angela could feel her jaws tighten. Her teeth were clenched hard. She could easily break a tooth if she applied enough pressure. “Where are they, bitch?”

Bobby knew that it was serious when Angela made her reply. He leaned over to hear but was relieved when she pushed the speaker button. He remained quiet and waved at the kids for them to be quiet.

_Now, now Absolution. You need to have a respectful tone. Sammy and Dean are fine for the moment. They are enjoying a little bit of my hospitality._

Angela felt her throat convulse. “Where are they?”

_All in good time. Right now you have something that I want most dreadfully. It is very valuable and I assume you are looking at it with its current Keeper and that little snip of a girl guardian._

It was easy to retort but the kids kept quiet. Angela looked ready to crush the phone in her hands. She swallowed in her anger and replied, “What is it that you think I have and what make you so sure that whoever you are talking about is here with it?”

_Ha! Don’t play coy with me Absolution. I know that the Keeper is there with you and you have the guardian since she saved your sorry ass. So don’t try that game. Your precious Champion and his brother’s lives are at stake._

Angela glanced at Bobby out of habit. Bobby knew that she was looking for help. She wasn’t always big on asking for it but she did and one just had to know how to read the signs. Sam was especially good at that. He gave a tap on her hand to indicate that she was to talk still. If they found out what the demon wanted, they could come up with some sort of plan.

Angela felt the reassuring tap and replied, “Alright fine then. What do you want?”

_I want the Eye of Horus of course._

“I don’t have it.”

_Don’t lie, Absolution. There is a punishment for such lies. How about I give you a small taste of that?_

Angela heard the yelps and her body tensed. “You sonofabitch! Leave them alone.”

_Then give me what I want. Chaos envelopes many things and I’ll leave it to your imagination what is going on here. Now I am willing to propose a trade. The Eye for the Winchesters. An even deal considering that I know about little Dean here and of course Sam is the Champion._

“I told the truth. I don’t have it. I haven’t said yes. How can I trade with something I don’t have?” It was a rhetorical question but Angela needed to stall for a moment if only to come up with an idea. She didn’t want to resort to a trade for an artifact that Jason spent the rest of his life and his family’s life protecting in exchange for the boys. Even they wouldn’t resort to that; she was sure of it.

_Then I suggest that you make it so that you have it. Bloody Keeper won’t hand it over and certainly not the guardians. But you… you have a special attachment to these two don’t you?_

_Don’t you dare go there you ugly bitch._

_Dean!_

Angela heard the scuffle and the grunts and she could hear the sounds of punches being thrown. She couldn’t say anything as she listened. The mind was a powerful thing when it came to making up things. She was imagining the worst.

_Such uncooperative humans and yet so amusing. Now what are you going to do? You can trade the Eye for the Winchesters or you can uphold that famous sense of duty and honor and you can let them die and we will come after you and kill you?_

_Don’t you dare Angie!_

Angela had enough. This bitch wanted to play, then she was going to hit hard back. She held the phone firmly up and replied, “Listen up. I’ll give you nothing. You let the Winchesters go and you can live one more day and if you ever show your ugly face again, then I will have to kill you.”

_Talk to her and get her to agree._

_We’re in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania…_

The phone cutoff at that and it left a dial tone. Angela pushed the button to hang up. She whispered, “I’m coming boys.”

“Ya know that I know that yer thinking of a plan and it involves going over there and extracting those idjits,” Bobby said. He was surprised that she made a blatant refusal like that. Clearly a lot of people expected her to fold and do a trade. He had trust in her that she knew what she was doing though.

“That’s the plan,” Angela replied as she pocketed her phone and hopped off Deanna. She looked in the direction of the three faces staring back at her. “We go in, ninja if we have to and give it to them. She wants the Eye so bad then she’ll have to fight for it.”

“Best plan my ass,” Bobby replied. He knew that it was the only plan available to them. They had to go retrieve Sam and Dean. “But it’s our plan.” He gave a sigh and looked at the Impala parked nearby and at the Camaro. At least rides weren’t a problem. “So general, how do you want to do this?” He looked at Angela and saw the slow smile start to form.

****

“You know that was real brilliant Sam. That Stanford education came in good for something.”

“Shut up Dean. It gave her an idea of where we were,” Sam replied as he prowled along the walls. They had managed to get free hours ago but the way to escape wasn’t easy. Whatever Tiamat did, she had the room rigged to release hallucinations every time they got within arm’s length of the door. He hated it since it seemed to oscillate between the fears that he had. The frustrating part was that no matter what he did, he couldn’t get close enough to Dean.

“Yeah and that means they know she’s coming and set up a trap. In case you haven’t noticed, she can’t see a damned thing!” Dean vented his frustration as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He winced slightly at the sore spot on his cheek.

“Cut her a break Dean,” Sam replied in his patient tone that was clearly under strain.

The last visit by Tiamat had her talking to Angela on the phone and trying to convince her to give up the Eye of Horus. As far as Sam could tell, in the wrong hands, it could spell doom and gloom for everyone. He didn’t know exactly what it did but if Jason thought that it was in danger, he would go to the one person he would trust.

Right now though she was alone and Sam had a bad feeling that wouldn’t spell well. Yet when she talked to Tiamat, she sounded confident and in fact downright pissed. It was clear when she said that she wasn’t going to give the demon anything and that she was to release him and his brother on their own steam. It actually sounded downright scary to hear.

It seemed to annoy Tiamat since she sighed and held it out to him. He and Dean had been restrained by her goons and she wanted him to talk to Angela. He looked at his brother and then at the demon and lastly at the phone before giving their location. He couldn’t say anymore since he was cutoff and that earned him and Dean a nice punching session to the midsection.

“Cut her break? Sam didn’t you hear what she threatened?”

“And you certainly wanted to do the same thing not too long ago.” Sam began studying the walls. He remembered that warehouse in Wyoming and the types of traps that were set. It occurred to him that it might be different here but if he could manage a couple of counters, he and Dean could pull off an escape.

“Yeah and that was before that ugly ass bitch mentioned that she wasn’t intending on honoring anything anyway.”

“You should know that Tiamat likes to break the rules.”

Sam and Dean both looked in the direction of the voice. It was Dean who said, “Shut up Cary. Who asked your demon ass opinion?”

Cary huffed a little and would have liked to squeeze Dean’s neck until his eyeballs popped out. However, he knew that she would tear him a new one if he so much as spit on them and he wasn’t one to test her wrath. He tested Lilith’s and Tiamat’s and he was lucky they bought his crappy ass info. The things he did for her. He looked at Dean and replied, “Crossroads demon dumbass.”

“More like Angie’s stoolie if you ask me,” Dean muttered. His frustration was mostly born out of worry. It was just easier to vent anger than to talk about it like Sam did.

“What me and Angie have is a business arrangement. I give her things and she lets me go on my merry way,” Cary replied. He couldn’t move since Tiamat had him placed in a devil’s trap and a very good one. “All strictly business.”

“Yeah and I bet you made a nice deal when queen bitch took you upstairs. I bet you sang like a canary.”

Cary narrowed his eyes at Dean and replied, “The most valuable thing to deal in is information Shorty. Any crossroads demon will tell you that without demons like me, there would be no business. How do you think they seek out their intended targets? Information is the most valuable thing whether it is what stupid hunters like you are doing next or selling the worst fears possible.”

“So you’re the one that told them that crock about Angie doing anything to save me and Sam?”

“You and stick up his ass were talking about the same thing not too long ago. I just used it as a means of staying alive. Sometimes withholding certain truths can prove beneficial too.” Cary gave a saucy grin in Dean’s direction He knew Sam was listening to this too. “I only told Tiamat what she wanted to know but she doesn’t know that it is nothing but a pack of lies. You think that you two know everything there is to know about Absolution? There is stuff out there that you have never even heard of and most of it is fake. But really who is looking at authenticity these days?” Cary raised his arms and gave a slight chuckle.

“So you gave false information?”

“Well I couldn’t make it all lies. I may have let a few things slip like your conversation,” Cary replied with a sort of apologetic shrug. “Oh come on the best lies have some bit of truth woven into it. Even Absolution knows that.”

Sam frowned, “What?”

“Who do you think started a few of those rumors? It was once a campaign to flesh out enemies and I must say that it still works.”

Sam finally found Dean and looked at him and they shared a look. Dean replied, “Well that is one thing that is true about Angie. She’s good at planning things.”

“Nice retort Shorty but you and Gigantor don’t stand a chance the longer you wait in here. She’s coming and I bet that she will be so focused on you, it will get her ass ganked. So let us blow this Popsicle stand and save her the trouble. Then everybody is happy.”

“And we’re supposed to trust you? Angie doesn’t even trust you.”

“You don’t, Deano. You just have to tolerate my ass like you do Ruby’s.”

Dean looked at Sam. They had nothing at the moment. If they could get out, they could be waiting for her and then give her a hand. “You got a plan?” He turned his gaze towards Cary.


	17. Chapter 17

The nighttime proved to be rather fitting. There was something about the darkness of the night that brought potency to even the most harmless of spells. Tiamat looked out the window at the famous battlefield and relished the memories. She got the feeling that this night was going to be the night and it would prove interesting.

“I see that you haven’t listened to my advice.”

Tiamat smiled and turned. “So nice of you to drop in again, Faisal. Have you come to see Absolution finally meeting the one who is just dying to meet her?”

Faisal stared at Tiamat with a sort of inquisitive expression. His hands were held behind his back in a sort of gesture that he was there for conversation. The truth was he used that posture as a means of being ready to strike. He replied, “I know that you have no intention of honoring any bargains. It never was in your taste of things.”

“You wound me,” Tiamat pouted. “I did keep my word that I wouldn’t kill you the next time we met.”

“And I was left with a most unusual souvenir,” Faisal counters. He took a tentative step forward while giving a sort of grin. “So don’t think that you won simply because she said she was coming to get you.”

“You seem to have such faith that she can defeat me.”

“I read the same books you did,” Faisal replied. “I’ve observed and I still say that you shouldn’t do this if you knew what was best for you.” He looked the demon in the eye and was in the process of engaging in a stare down.

Tiamat didn’t bite however and turned to look away and out the window. She could see shadows of that day. “You remember that battle don’t you Faisal? It was where you first saw her and like so many others, you became curious.”

Faisal didn’t move as he peered over her shoulder from the distance he was at. He made it appear that he was inquisitive. “I remember the bloodshed especially considering that there were some overzealous vamps fighting for the South. A surprise it was when their Northern brethren swooped down on them.” He shuffled silently on his feet knowing that he was being deliberately evasive regarding that battle.

He did meet Absolution that day. She fought and saved people, human and nonhuman alike. He had to admit that it was rare to see someone that knew and still cared enough to make sure they were comfortable and in a position to fib about rapid healing rates and the like. He could admit that he was curious about her and had inquired through contacts discreetly and came to a few conclusions.

Tiamat laughed, “Ah yes the famous vampire squabble that didn’t make it into the history books.”

“Not in the ones that they read. Sometimes it is good to have the blinders on,” Faisal replied in a soft tone.

“And they end up believing in nothing and they are nothing even if they pray to God.” Tiamat gave an about face to look at Faisal as she hissed at him. He had such a soft spot for mortals. “To leave a mark is one of the finest things ever.”

“You certainly have left your mark but it has been labeled as something else. An accident or an explosion or even a change in orders… whatever it is, the credit never goes to you.”

“It will again once I have the Eye and she meets Absolution.”

Faisal raised his brow. “And how do you plan on acquiring it? As far as I know she won’t give it up and she will do whatever it takes to raid your refrigerator.” At the look Tiamat was giving him, he gave a slight grin. “Oh I know your tastes. They fit them and I am betting that you will sneak your share right off the top.”

“They are for…”

Suddenly the lights went out. There was no storm outside to knock out the power. There was some noise coming from the grounds. Tiamat looked around at the darkened room and then at Faisal who could only be distinguished by a pair of glowing orbs. He said, “It looks like you may get your wish Tiamat. Only I think you may have just gotten more than you bargained for. I warned you.” His orbs then disappeared from sight.

Tiamat couldn’t help but growl in rage. “Faisal!”

In burst Memnet with only a flashlight saying, “Something’s wrong with the power.”

Tiamat growled. She couldn’t find Faisal. That bastard certainly knew how to sneak around. “Nothing is wrong with it you little twit. We’re under attack. Have the men scramble. We may have a blind bat in our midst.”

At that moment there were shouts and screams. It was followed by loud crashes and occasionally the bangs of a gun. Tiamat looked in the general direction of the noise. So she wanted to cause a ruckus? Well she was going to get it.

“What are we going to do?”

Tiamat listened to the noise. She then started down the stairs. It was dark but she could use this as an advantage. She knew exactly what to do. “We are going to finish this and we’re going to use a little bit of leverage.”

“Leverage?”

“Prepare as we planned. We are just going to move up the timetable and then Absolution will see who the biggest bitch is.” She continued down the stairs but forgot about the end table at the bottom. She ended up running into it and bumped her knee on it and nearly cursed at it. Curses on poor night vision. She growled and continued forward.

****

“You’re sure this is going to work?”

Bobby made a motion as he held the rifle that he had brought and the bag that was slung over his shoulders. This had to be the most stupidest plan ever thought of but what choice did they have? He replied, “I’m about as sure as you are.”

Amunet looked around as she held the shotgun she had been given in a ready position as she looked around. She wasn’t sure about this either and yet the elder seemed to trust Absolution. It just had her uneasy that Kyros was not under her direct supervision. It was bad enough that they had been separated before and that was involuntary and there was a reason behind it. This was different and it was part of some plan to rescue two guys and take out a demon and there were four of them and a mutt and one of them was as blind as a bat.

Bobby looked around. He was surprised that there was no one around to stop them. No demons and none of them Tiamat worshippers. The sounds of the bugs all around had him made him think of those days when he used to go hunting. He half expected something to pop out of the nearby woods.

It took most of the day and into the night to get to Gettysburg and when they got there the plan was somewhat agreed on though the objections were kept by all members of the party. Now he was out traipsing through the damn forest looking for something that had been hidden since 1863. It was a wild goose chase.

_Think of it as a typical hunt except without the usual._

Bobby held the growl that threatened in his throat. She made it sound like it was nothing and she was doing the risky part and with the fool boy who said he could handle it. Of course he knew that she wouldn’t have it any other way and she was good at calling an audible in the middle of a hunt.

“Where exactly are we?”

Bobby didn’t look at the girl since he was paying attention to look for what he needed to look for. He had to find it and was surprised that this kind of thing went unnoticed all this time. He replied, “We’re standing on a site in history. It is considered one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. This is where the battle of Gettysburg was fought.”

Amunet raised a brow. She studied history but not all of American history. She only studied the bits and pieces that interested her. She had glossed over that period but never really delved into it. “That’s when Lincoln gave his famous speech right?”

“Right,” Bobby replied. “But what we’re looking for is something that would never make it into any history book you read in school.” He came across a clearing until he was standing in front of a tree. He looked and spotted what he was looking for. “This is it.”

Amunet looked at what appeared to be a tree but she could make out the crude markings on the trunk. She didn’t recognize them and she had been made to study them. She looked around and saw that they were standing in a perfect circle of cleared ground. The rocks had etchings carved in them. “What is this?”

Bobby had put his rifle down against the tree and unslung the bag around his shoulder and put it on the ground. “This is part of Angie’s idea and why she thinks I can do this… She knows the risks…”

“Whoa, jump back. What are you talking about?” Amunet kept looking around to make sure they weren’t going to be ambushed.

“This is a monument but of a supernatural nature. Angie discovered it or something. I don’t know how or when she found it,” Bobby replied as he opened the bag and began to work something out of it. “Some places where massive deaths occur, their spirits linger. There have been reports of sightings of the ghosts of dead soldiers wandering the place and even some cases of interaction.”

“Are you saying that…?”

Bobby pulled out a thick book that looked really old and it was not bound in a conventional manner. “Well from what yer friend was able to dig up about this Tiamat, she was attracted to battles and some she had a bit of influence in. So the ghosts may be pissed that she came back.”

“Are you binding them? Cause you know that kind of thing can backfire on you,” Amunet replied looking at Bobby.

“We’re not binding them but rather giving them the opportunity to get revenge. At least that’s what Angie simplified it as.” Bobby looked at the book in his hands. He then looked at the carvings. Even he was not sure about this. This sounded so much like the skeleton men in _Jason and the Argonauts_. He paused a moment and scowled. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Oh. Sounds like _Jason and the Argonauts_ ,” Amunet replied. “You know with all the skeleton men.”

“Oh balls,” Bobby muttered at that reference.

“That was a good movie and yes I can see the possible coincidence between the movie and the whole thing with the Eye. I don’t think Absolution was thinking that when she came up with the idea of doing this,” Amunet countered as she defended the movie. It was a guilty pleasure watching those old movies. She also liked _Clash of the Titans_ , the original one.

“Just like Dean,” Bobby muttered as he looked at the cover. “Well, let’s see if this works and be ready with that rock salt.”

“Hey I’m ready. You just get to reading Professor.” Amunet motioned with her shotgun as she felt in her jacket for the extra rounds.

Bobby gave a slight look at Amunet before reading the inscription on the cover, reading the good old Latin phrases. At the end he tossed the book in the air and the result was surprising as it unfolded and suspended itself in midair. He looked at Amunet who was just as surprised and said, “Well whaddaya know.” He turned back to look at it and begin.

****

“Well that was a coincidence.”

“Highly unlikely Dean,” Sam replied as he peered into the darkness. Dean was right behind him and they were making their way out of the room.

“Will you two shut up? They have ears you know.”

Even though they couldn’t see him in the darkness, Sam and Dean turned to shoot glares at the demon. He may have been able to get them out of the situation of the hallucination traps but that didn’t mean that endeared him to them. It was a means to an end and one not taken lightly by both sides. The glare was short lived though and they turned their attention to getting through the place in the dark. They had been making their way up a flight of stairs when the power went off.

Sam had a suspicion that it was Angela but she had Bobby with her. That increased the odds considerable. Dean was in the same frame of mind when he said, “Well it evens the playing field.”

Sam silently agreed as he took the lead heading up the stairs. The landing at the top was wide enough to hold the three of them as he paused at the door. He could hear the sounds of gunshots and screams and crashing sounds. There was something going on and it sounded like the cavalry. As soon as he opened the door, he felt something send him flying back and down the stairs and he briefly saw Dean go flying down with him.

“Naughty, naughty little Winchesters. Did you think that I would let you go so easily?”

Sam felt the throb in his back from tumbling down the stairs and considered him and Dean lucky that they didn’t break anything in the fall. He looked up to see Tiamat come down the stairs with a few others. He tried not to grimace in pain since that was a pretty long fall.

Tiamat looked at the fallen Winchesters and then at the demon Cary who had gotten tossed along with them. He was actually on his feet and looking at her with that stupid look of his. “And you Cary? I assume you had a hand in this?” She gave a glare at him since that usually had him cower and cringe and all the delightful things she enjoyed in.

Cary stood there looking nonchalant. While he was intimidated by queen bitch’s second, he still had a modicum of self-respect. He replied, “I’m an opportunist. I needed someone to break the devil’s trap you set up and these two were willing to oblige. Besides I gave you enough on queen bitch’s desire so now I take my leave.”

In a flash he was gone and Dean couldn’t help but curse, “Sonofabitch.”

That was countered by him and Sam sliding along the floor fast enough to probably get rug burn if there was a carpet. The room became illuminated by torch light and Sam could make out some guys in suits and some in those priests robes. Great; it seemed like his nightmare was a vision. He struggled to get up but found himself pinned to the floor and it felt like someone was sitting on him. “Dean?”

Dean was in the same predicament as Sam. He felt like someone was trying to pull him into the ground. The pressure kept increasing. “Hang on Sam.”

Tiamat was amused as they struggled. Every time they struggled, it just made it worse. She was wondering if they would figure it out. She said, “You know I really hate to do this but your friend had left me no choice. Since she refuses to trade the Eye for you two, I guess I’ll just turn you over to who really wants you.”

“Yeah and who is that? The freaky ass hooded guy that ran away last time?” Dean had stopped struggling and realized that the pressure stopped. It still felt tight but at least it wasn’t threatening to squeeze out his innards like a tube of toothpaste.

“Oh someone much more than that.” Tiamat came and kneeled next to Dean. She leaned in close and took a sniff. “Your kind of blood smells so good. Even yours does Sammy even though it is tainted.”

“Yeah well you’re one ugly ass bitch,” Dean replied not liking the fact that she was so close to him. He could feel her breath and he wanted nothing more than to stick it to her if he had Ruby’s knife. “The older you are the uglier you get.”

Tiamat laughed, “I prefer more attractive.” She ran her fingers along Dean’s face and chuckled at the face he made trying to get away. “Of course there is a price for that.” She leaned in close to sniff again and brush her nose against his face, feeling the muscle twitch. “There are certain rules to follow even if being a demon means eternity of a sort and your kind of blood will suit me but unfortunately I must save you for the big fish. Sammy though… that is something else.” She smiled a sardonic smile implying the obvious. 

“You touch Sam and I’ll kill you.” Dean’s rage was firm on his face while he was silently praying that Angela would get her demon kicking ass down here.

Tiamat had already wandered over towards Sam when Dean threatened her. She turned and let him get a look at her eyes and face that would form if a video camera caught her. “You are nothing but puppy chow you pathetic little runt.” Her voice warped a little as she let her power show. She tightened the grip on Dean and watched as he struggled in pain. “When are you going to learn that you are fighting a losing battle? Why not enjoy your last days watching as Sammy here suffers?”

“Bitch!”

Tiamat laughed as she let up a little and took to sniffing Sam. “Ah Sammy, Lilith wants you dead so bad that she doesn’t care who does it. And you do smell good except for that taint that runs through your blood. I wonder what the others would think about you?”

Sam gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep away from her touch. He didn’t fail to notice someone carrying stuff for a ritual and was preparing to carry it out. He looked at Tiamat who really was ugly in the current form she was in. He hated the touch and managed to reply, “I think that they would be more onboard ganking your ugly ass.”

“Too bad. I am going to enjoy this. However I am up for a little entertainment. Shall we see how long Dean will last with the puppy?” Tiamat snapped her fingers and there was a howl and a growl.

Dean tried to look around. Damn it was a hell hound. Suddenly he felt the hot and god awful breath on his face. He looked up and braced himself. He could hear Sam protesting as it dawned on him that his ticket might be up sooner. He looked up and was prepared for the bite but it never came. Instead he heard a snarl and something huge and hairy jumped over him and tackled the hell hound. What the hell?

Dean looked around as far as his head could go and he hear snarling and growling like those movie dog fights only it sounded really ugly. He could hear shouts and fighting. What was going on?

Tiamat wasn’t surprised to see the hell hound from before. Anyone would recognize Cerebus, the prized hell bitch that had been kidnapped from Tartarus and made to serve Azazel. She didn’t care that it was going to kill the puppy she brought to torment Sam since that was going to happen when Dean’s ticket was up. Of course it was much more fun to chase a dead man.

That didn’t matter much as she looked around and saw some of her demon minions crying in pain as they were being sprayed with holy water. They really were weaklings. She looked at Memnet and motioned for her to finish the ritual. She looked at Sam and said, “Well at least Lilith will get one thing that she wants.” She smiled to reveal a nice set of sharp teeth that was intended for one thing only.

Sam tried to struggle. He disliked the demon’s chuckle and telling him that he had nothing to worry about. Suddenly he heard the demon scream and back away. He saw some sort of weird weapon sticking out of her and he turned to see a boy no older than eighteen looking shocked that he actually managed to hit her.

Tiamat looked at the intruder and said, “You will pay for that.”

Kyros took the moment to get out of the way and land at the bottom of the stairs. He looked at the demon and replied, “I think you’ll be the only one that pays.” He held up the other half of his weapon and was prepared to use it.

It was a mistake to charge. Kyros swung his weapon trying to strike her but either missed or was blocked. He was sent flying with a hard strike to the chest from Tiamat and he collided with a column hitting the back of his head. Out of his jacket pocket, the box tumbled out.

Tiamat recognized the box instantly. “So you thought to bring the Eye instead of hide it. How stupid of you and even more foolish that you didn’t hand it off to Absolution.”

She started towards the Eye and was stopped when Cerebus clamped on her arm in a firm bite. She growled and flung the hell hound aside. When he charged at her again, she used her powers to send him into another column and relished the whimper that came. “You still think to challenge me you stupid hell mutt. You are weak.”

She started towards the box again but stopped. She turned and with a wave of her hand, she sent Dean skidding at an odd angle. His head and shoulder hit the wall. “Foolish human. You think you can challenge me?” She motioned towards herself as she reached out for the box and it sailed effortlessly into her hand. “Finally. The Eye of Horus is mine.”

Sam looked over at Dean who was knocked out. How his brother managed to get free was beyond him but it was possible to break it. Yet Tiamat was a powerful demon… There really was no time to think about it. He tried moving but he was still stuck. He grunted and tried but he was held fast as he watched the demon start to open the box.

Then there was the distinct clicking. The other sounds had died away. Sam looked in the direction of the sound and could tell that they were footsteps coming down the stairs. There was also a slight tapping. He and the demon both looked to see Angela walking in like she was there for a stroll. Sam couldn’t help but frown especially when she said, “I seem to recall that I was invited to a tea party and I had a rude reception.”

Tiamat laughed, “Absolution. You are a bold one. Marching straight in with a poodle hell bitch and a boy who gave up the Eye after a few hard knocks.”

“What can I say? I have my talents. Now I think the best thing for you to do would be for you to give me back that Eye and release the Winchesters or you may find yourself being sent to the deepest place in the pit.”

“You and what army?”

“Just me… and this.”


	18. Chapter 18

Angela knew that her plan was grade-A stupid but no one would expect it of her least of all Tiamat and her crew. It would prove a fair distraction and she had a few surprises in store and she could owe a helping hand from Kyros too. Yep, a stupid plan and one that just might work.

Cutting the power was easy since Kyros knew a thing or two about hotwiring. Then the real fun began since they were all on even footing. They took out Tiamat’s crew like it was nothing. Well the demons were the easiest to get to and she managed to kick the crap out of the guy that caused her blindness. He went down like it was nothing and they sure caused chaos inside.

Of course a little persuasion was necessary on a few of the minions. It was pretty nasty since she pretty much used the same methods of persuasion on Cary. Since some were demons it hurt like a bitch and it just hurt anyway if they were humans. She wasn’t going to waste time trying to distinguish the difference.

She sent Cerebus on ahead to protect the boys from anything. She and Kyros followed with him taking point. The noise he created while getting tossed around masked her footsteps until she was in position. Of course she had to be like Dean and be a sarcastic ass in her response but it seemed fitting. She said in response to Tiamat’s taunting, “Just me… and this.” She held up the cane and stood there.

Tiamat chuckled as she put the box down. “Alright. We can do this.” She grabbed the dagger that was used in the ritual and held it ready to use. She then launched forward to attack.

Angela listened and blocked. It became sort of a fist fight and blows were exchanged until she was driven back into a column. Tiamat taunted her, “You fight well with the old ways.”

Angela countered with a well-placed head butt and retorted, “That is a little something new.”

The battle carried on a few more minutes. Both combatants had given and received blows that were going to leave a mark. Sam in the meantime had been trying to get himself free. He did manage to wriggle his hand after a few minutes but nothing more. He wondered how Dean did it until he felt his whole arm lift and then the pressure was gone. He turned to see Kyros holding his hand out and muttering a spell of sorts. Another friendly witch?

It was a chance to grab Dean and get out but Sam wasn’t going to leave her behind. He saw that it was an attempt to distract Tiamat so they could get out but he wasn’t going to just walk away with Dean. Now that he was free, he made his way over to his brother who was just waking up and holding his shoulder. “Dean, you’re okay?”

“I’m fine Francis,” Dean muttered as he got up. He waved Sam away and say Angela giving as hard as she got. He could see what Sam had meant when he said she kicked ass.

Kyros had gotten over to them and said, “Hey, time to go.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Does it matter Dean? Come on,” Sam replied as he hauled his brother to his feet. He was nearly startled when Cerebus bumped his leg and tugged on his jeans. Apparently this was part of some plan and judging by the fact that a kid and a very visible hell mutt were pulling him and his brother towards the exit, it was hers.

Dean was thinking the same thing when he got to his feet. “I’ll go when I’m damn sure she’s okay, bitch.” He looked around, “Any guns around?”

Kyros pulled out the Taurus that Angela said to give to Dean and her Beretta to Sam. He pulled out the other gun and held them out to them. “Contingency,” he said, reciting what he was supposed to say. “We have to go now.” He was interrupted when something flew in their direction and he reacted by using one of his mother’s spells in Greek.

Dean was impressed. As much as he hated witches, he had to admit that the ones that were on their side weren’t half bad. That didn’t mean that he was going to just leave her without a wingman. “Hey we don’t go anywhere without Angie.”

Sam was in complete agreement. They were going to stay and knowing the hell mutt, he was going to stay with them no matter where they went. He and Dean were astute enough to know when to interfere and when to stay back. They looked at each other and silently agreed on their next course of action. They checked their guns and found them loaded with iron rounds and they started slinking around to look for a vantage point.

Meanwhile Angela was holding up. She heard the telltale sound of a blade coming her way and she jumped back to avoid the blow and brought her cane up to deflect the second blow. She had taken a few hits and she knew she had given a few good hits herself. She just needed to buy some time to get the boys out and then she would give everything she got and stick it to the demon bitch.

Tiamat was impressed with Angela and the fact that she was holding out. She also suspected that it was a ploy and glancing around she saw she was correct in her guess. She waited until there was an opportunity. She asked, “Do you know what I find most impressive about you Absolution?”

Angela held her cane ready to swing and moved her head like she was looking for her opponent. She replied, “Go ahead and tell me. I’ve heard most everything.”

Tiamat grinned, “Oh just the fact that you are clever.” She then leashed out with her power and she had Sam and Dean flying into the columns. “You almost had me there,” she smiled as she issued force into the pressure she knew they were feeling.

Angela heard the grunts and then there was Cerebus growling. She recognized that he was charging and then she heard a yelp and Tiamat saying, “Bloody dog.”

Angela couldn’t hear Kyros and she had no idea where Bobby was. All she could hear were the boys grunting and she knew the power of that move. She took a chance and charged. Luck seemed to be on her side since she barreled into Tiamat and gave a punch or two. She was given a hard shove backwards and landed on her back. It was pure reaction for her to give a forward flip and she landed on her feet and was ready to block the blow.

Tiamat was tired of games and was going to end this. She grabbed Sam and held him in a grip that would allow her to break a limb if he got it into his head to move the wrong way. “You think to challenge me when you know you have no means of winning. I guess I’ll just have to take what I intended. After all Sammy’s blood has two desirable types in it.”

Angela made a frown that was only visible through her eyebrows. So the bitch wanted to play that way. Then she will take it to her. She replied, “I can’t let you do that.” She then barked something in Greek.

Tiamat suddenly found herself with her prize and Angela was on her. It was a fierce fight until Tiamat sent Angela flying back with a powerful blow. It ended up separating her from her cane and she was without it. It also caught Sam and Kyros and they hit something and were grunting in pain. They increased since Tiamat decided to apply pressure and squeeze them like they were tubes of toothpaste. Angela knew that she had to act now. She could only hope that everything was set up as she described it when she first came up with the plan. _The best plan ever my ass_ , she thought to herself as she tried to orient herself.

Standing up she took a few blind steps with her hands in front of her. She heard laughter and the demon asking, “Aww did you lose something? Can’t see the world in front of you?” it was taunting to her ears.

Angela reached into her pocket while pulling out the knife that she had brought in. She held it up and replied, “I can things you can’t Tiamat and I see that your end is near.” She then held up her knife and added, “This will end now.”

Tiamat laughed. A blind girl was going to use a pig sticker with her? It was damned hilarious and she began laughing even more. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. You see I know someone who wants you but wants Sammy dead. So if you seek to threaten me with that, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

Angela put the blade to her hand and drew it across and drew blood. At the same time, she recited a ritual. Had she been able to see, she would have been able to see the look of confusion across the demon’s face. Her concentration was on the incantation and she completed it letting the few drops fall to the ground on top of the herb she had dropped before standing up.

The result was a rumbling sound and the wind picking up. Angela looked in Tiamat’s direction and said, “You see, I know about your tendencies and what you did here. You’ve got a lot of angry spirits here.”

At that moment, the spirits came charging in as the wind picked up. They blew past Angela as they stood to face the demon. She then said something and they charged. They would restrain her until she got close enough and then… The air was filled with the demon getting angry and she decided to take it out on the Winchesters. That was until Cary popped in and dragged them out of the way.

Angela looked wildly around. She couldn’t see anything but her hearing spoke volumes. She could hear cries of pain and that cruel laughter. She then heard Cary muttering as he dragged the Winchesters who were struggling with him. Her hands were stretched out as she tried to feel for the surfaces. She called out, “Hang on!” It was time to end this.

Angela advanced until she felt grabbed and found that it was Tiamat that had her. That was just perfect. The demon was not looking her best as the spirits refused to let her out. They were like some sort of devil’s trap. The demon said, “I’m going to break you and then Lilith will kill you and you won’t be able to protect your precious Sammy nor save Dean. She is waiting for you to come to her and she wants you to come.”

“Good because it is my intention to come after her.” Angela then began on the Latin exorcism. It was one of the more powerful ones and it would send Tiamat to the deepest pits of hell and it would keep her busy for a long, long time.

****

Sam and Dean had never seen so many things happen at once. It was nothing like the plans Angela had come up with before. Then again they had never gone against a demon that was revered as a goddess before either. She was like other demons though with that whole wall thing and they were about to be crushed before the worm Cary showed up and snapped them loose.

“Seriously? I would think you two would be out of here by now.”

The next thing they knew, they were being dragged by their jacket collars to where Kyros had managed to drag Cerebus and was holding onto him. They were hiding behind a bunch of crates and boxes. Dean managed to get himself free and would have gone to help if he hadn’t been grabbed by Cary and told, “You better not. She’ll kill me if I let you two numbskulls get yourselves killed.”

Dean glared at Cary, “What are you talking about?”

Kyros interrupted, “It’s part of the plan. Something about calling on the spirits of the dead to create a devil’s trap and then exorcise the hell out of Tiamat.”

“Then why are we here?” Dean looked at the kid who was holding onto the mutt that had a nasty gash on its shoulder.

“This is a special sort and like other things made for powerful beings, chance of human survival is none. For full bloods, high but I can’t say for her,” Cary said. He grabbed Sam and said, ‘Don’t make me use my mojo on you to stop you. Like I said she’ll kill me. Now stay down.” He shoved both of the Winchesters down just at the last of the exorcism rite was said.

The screaming was loud and the light was bright. The sound of the demon smoking out was nothing like the others. When it finished it was deathly quiet. It was too quiet as Sam and Dean peeped and slowly looked around. Suddenly the lights came on and they were able to see that the basement had been converted to look like a temple of sorts and that there were a few dead bodies from those that didn’t leave.

A noise from the door at the top of the stairs caught their attention. It was a relief that it was Bobby and Amunet. They were holding their guns and looking around for anything that might decide to make a move now. Their attention was directed to a pair of bodies that were on top of some sort of sigil painted on the ground. One was the now empty meat suit of Tiamat and the other was…

****

“You know you’ve got to be the craziest and stupidest and dumbest smart person alive,” Dean was spluttering in the safety of a motel room.

“It worked didn’t it?”

“That’s not the point Angie,” Sam said quietly as he saw to her hand. “That was a big risk and how did you even know it was going to work?”

“I was here before back in 1863 after I got back from a job out west,” Angela replied. She knew she was blinking quite a bit. The bright light had done her eyes no favor. It looked like she might be losing it for good or it might take a little bit longer to heal. “I was in that battle. I told you I’ve seen war.”

“So that was how ya knew about that monument hidden in the forest then,” Bobby affirmed. “Am I wrong to guess you had something to do with it?”

“Yes. Madame Simone made it and put her mark on it. The book is full of her work which is mostly voodoo and hoodoo stuff. She hid it up North and went to end her days back in her home of the South. Clever no?” Angela offered a slight look that was hard to discern since she was still wearing the glasses. She was petting Cerebus who was lapping her hand and rubbing his head on her knee.

“I’m not even going to ask how ya get into this stuff,” Bobby replied as he pulled out a bottle of the good stuff. He glanced at the kids. They might as well have a drink since it was their first hunt they participated in.

Angela said nothing but heard the telltale sounds of the whiskey bottle and paper cups, courtesy of the motel, coming out. Victory drinks around it seemed. She made a slight hum and said quietly, “Just happen to be in the right place once in a blue moon. Most of the time it is the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“It hasn’t been that way all the time though,” Dean said as he handed a cup to his brother and then to Angela. “I’d consider this right place, right time. That Tiamat was one tough broad. So where did you send her anyway?”

“To a place where she won’t cause trouble for a very long, long, long time.”

That was better than nothing and Dean put a hand on her shoulder and took a drink. They spent the time drinking the bottle dry and Angela explaining about the whole plan and what she came up with. Of course Bobby had to ask about the hell mutt being able to be seen like how he was and she had to admit that it was something she wasn’t sure of either. It didn’t matter anyway.

Later Angela found herself sitting on the trunk of Deanna facing the east. She was certain that there was a delay from the bright light. It brought back the scary thought that she might be permanently blind. Well she would have to handle it and learn how to compensate. She did a good job since her other senses were actually sharpened. She was able to tell the difference in the timing of scents now and she had to laugh since she couldn’t do it before in the Morton House.

“I would ask if you were sobering up but you and I both know that the only thing that gets you drunk is soda.”

“Very funny Sam. Oh and Dean you better not say anything about Grant. That was a once in a lifetime thing.”

Dean made a slight face. “How did you… never mind. Anyway we thought we’d offer you some company. The kids are tormenting Bobby along with Cerebus.”

Angela smiled slightly. “Cerebus and Bobby get along together even though Bobby won’t admit it and I am sure Setna warms the bed for him. Yep I turned Bobby into a collector of strays.” She chuckled at that since it was true. First it was here and then Cerebus and now Setna. “As for the kids, they’re heading out first thing in the morning and free of their obligation.”

“So you’re going to take the Eye then?” Dean eyed Angela as she stared straight ahead. He and Sam heard the explanation from the two kids about the Eye and their parts they played with a little help from Bobby.

“Might as well. The old seadog was destined to have it and once it became evident that he couldn’t protect it anymore, he handed it off to the one person he trusted to make sure the other side doesn’t get it.” Angela smiled as she leaned towards the brothers. “Don’t worry. I know a few places where it will be safe. The amulet of Isis has a safe place which I found after it was given as a gift and then I was stuck.”

“You are pretty good at protecting things,” Sam offered.

“Yeah well people are another story. I get you two in more trouble than can be counted and I still manage to get you out and end up with a few interesting souvenirs,” Angela replied as she gave a slight chuckle. She sobered quickly though and revealed her thoughts, “I think it’s going to take a lot longer than projected for my eyes to correct and there is a chance that…”

“It might be permanent?” Sam sat next to Angela and looked at her.

“Possibly since that exorcism might not have been a good idea. It’ll be hard but I think I did okay.”

Sam and Dean shared a look. They both knew she was saying that for their benefit as much as hers. If it was permanent, then there were some things that needed to be worked out. The domestic stuff she could do since that was like a sixth sense in of itself. It was the hunts that could prove a problem. It wasn’t that they didn’t have confidence in her; it was just that the risks increased and neither one of them wanted to see her hurt even if she could cite examples like Augusta.

“The silence is deafening,” Angela gently teased. “I know you both are thinking of things in the long term. I know that such a handicap could prove a liability but I wouldn’t ask you two to stop if something similar happened. I would express my doubts but I would let you try. You know sometimes you have to jump off the precipice and only then it is when you learn you can fly.”

Dean understood what she was getting at. It was the same advice she gave him regarding Sam. He had been showing Sam a few things and how to do things on his own and he watched as she had taught them both a few new things. She would show them and then left them to it. This was going to push Sam’s buttons since the kid had the tendency to try and shield her and he was worried what would happen if Sam treated her like china. He nodded and replied, “I agree. I mean it won’t be easy with my deal coming due and then what happened with you…” He made a slight motion with his hands not sure how to continue while ignoring the look Sam gave.

“It’s just more of the same,” Angela finished. “We take it as it comes.” She then sighed. She wasn’t looking forward to being in this situation permanently but she could make the most of it. She had never asked for a handout before and the boys knew she wouldn’t now. “Funny how you never appreciate something until it’s gone.”

“What do you miss, Angie?” Sam asked the question after thinking about what his brother and Angela said.

“Everything but I guess I have new ways of seeing.”

“What if there was a way to fix it?”

The three of them turned to see Kyros standing there. He was looking at them with an intense expression. He repeated, “What if there is a way to fix your sight?”

“What do you mean kid?” Dean looked at Kyros. He rather liked the kid especially when he found out he had his taste in music even though he was a brainiac like Sam.

“The Eye of Horus is an item of healing. It is a symbol of healing. Legend has it that when he was injured, the eye he poured his healing energy into and whoever knows how to use it can heal just about anything. Of course there is a catch.”

“Let me guess. You need a healer,” Dean replied. The look on the kid’s face confirmed it and he said, “Okay so you think you can do it yourself Angie?”

“Why me? There is one standing right in front of you. Granted it’s not as strong as some I’ve come across but it will do,” Angela replied as she moved her head to look in Kyros’ direction.

Neither Winchester said anything about her knowing about Kyros as a healer. However they did have certain thoughts regarding using the supernatural for something like that. True Angela used her mojo but she often manipulated it so that that body would use its own healing process. They didn’t know how this would work. “Why do you think this is a solution kid?” Dean asked.

Kyros replied, “I have read about Absolution and the Champion and the Slayer and they are hero worship stories. I kind of understand why you didn’t want to take the Eye before and I understand why you will take it now. At least let me give a chance to even the odds in a fight.”

Angela nodded with a slight smile. Always for the fight and she lived for that. “Okay.”

Kyros pulled the box out and pulled out the amulet. With all the blood cleaned off, it looked like it did before the switch was made. He held it in his hand and stood in front of Angela who had removed her glasses. He began muttered the incantation in the ancient Egyptian he had learned.

It certainly was an interesting sight to see the thing glow as he placed it by each eye and then right where the third eye would be. No questions were asked since this was all new to the Winchesters and Angela knew that some things carried over. It was over quickly just as the first rays of the sun started to peek through.

Three pairs of eyes looked at Angela as she sat there blinking her eyes slowly. Finally Angela let out a slight gasp and all three asked, “What?”

“Sunrise. It’s sunrise.”

****

Faisal stood off in the distance as he watched the four by the car. Three were in a state of shocked surprise and she was just smiling. So things seemed to be well off. He had to admit that he was surprised that she came up with that idea to deal with Tiamat.

“Well aren’t you going to express your gratitude for sending Cary back to help?”

Faisal looked at Crowley and replied, “Gratitude is wasted on you. However I will admit you did your part in this instance but you still need to work on stopping this foolish idea she has.”

“You try reasoning with a deadly sex goddess. She’s already shot at me,” Crowley replied, “Besides I think there may be a change of plans in the near future. She’s not stupid you know.”

“But foolish.”

“Resourceful,” Crowley pointed out. “She knows that she will need a contingency plan and I think she has it. Maybe several.”

“At least I won’t have to teach her that when the time comes.”

“More likely she’ll teach you a few things sourpuss.” Crowley turned his gaze to see her just admiring the scene. “That’s what happens when you underestimate her.”


End file.
